Conquering Epidemics

We can never stop fighting

Humans and pathogens are locked in a bitter arms race—and the pathogens are winning. They are evolving to resist our best medicines, and humanity’s pipeline of effective antibiotic weapons is empty. Meanwhile, in a world of packed cities, constant travel, and a warming planet, the danger of a massive outbreak is more acute than ever.

We’re fighting on many fronts to make sure humanity is ready when the next big outbreak happens. Whether it’s a virulent new virus or a persistent killer like AIDS, TB, or Malaria, we’re determined to outsmart our infectious disease foes. We’re mining mountains of data to reveal clues about how these diseases spread. We’re cracking the pathogens’ biological codes. And we’re helping teams around the world build better systems for surveillance and response.

We’re stopping patient 0 from leading to patient 6.7 billion.

Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics
The Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics (CCDD) has been a key center for research and policy analysis on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response.
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Recent Stories

A renewed call for more rapid COVID-19 tests

The U.S. needs far more rapid COVID-19 tests than are currently available to help curb the spread of disease during the Delta surge and beyond, according to a Harvard Chan School expert.

Analysis: Pregnancy attempts dropped steeply during pandemic

From May 2020 to October 2020, pregnancy attempts among women in the U.S. dropped from 6.1% to 4.9%—almost 20%—according to a new analysis from the Apple Women’s Health Study.

The latest on the coronavirus

Harvard Chan School experts offer comments and context about the coronavirus in a variety of media outlets.

Understanding the new recommendations on COVID-19 boosters

In this Q&A, Eric Rubin discusses the FDA advisory panel vote on recommendations for COVID-19 boosters.

Vaccinating in conflict zones

Hammering out temporary ceasefires in conflict zones will be necessary to vaccinate enough people against COVID-19 so that the pandemic can be brought to an end, according to humanitarian professionals.

Caroline Buckee
Associate Professor of Epidemiology

"One of the key things you want to know about an infectious disease is where is it spreading, how quickly, to which populations? Traditionally, we’ve had very few sources of data about how people move around. But today, everyone has a mobile phone."
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Yonatan Grad
Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases

"In the future, our understanding of the diversity of pathogen species, and the interaction between host and pathogen, will improve."
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Jessica Cohen
Bruce A. Beal, Robert L. Beal, and Alexander S. Beal Associate Professor of Global Health

"Over the next 30 to 50 years, a game changer would be a highly effective malaria vaccine... Meanwhile, lots of kids with malaria are misdiagnosed or undertreated. A vaccine would allow us to circumvent these many behavioral barriers."
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Jeff Wagner
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases

"In the near future, we’re going to see rapid diagnostic tests: for example, a simple and cheap readout that says whether a person has Zika or dengue—two viruses with similar symptoms."
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