MAPPING@Brown
Your social mixing data could help improve pandemic decision-making with MAPPING@Brown
Data collection has concluded, and enrollment is now closed.
We look forward to sharing preliminary findings in the coming months. In the meantime, check out this Providence Journal article describing the vision behind MAPPING@Brown.
Thank you to all who participated in the Fall 2023 MAPPING@Brown research study.
Current opportunities for participation will be posted on our Get Involved page.
Because infectious pathogens spread from person to person, our social interactions shape disease transmission patterns.
MAPPING@Brown is a research project exploring the suitability of a smartphone app for studying these interactions. The project is conducted by the Mobility Analysis for Pandemic Prevention Strategies (MAPPS) team under the leadership of Dr. Mark Lurie.
The Fall 2023 MAPPING@Brown study [IRB Protocol #00000094] attempts to map the social network within the Brown University School of Public Health at 121 S Main St in Providence, RI.
The app used for data collection was developed in collaboration with the Brown Center for Computation and Visualization. Designed with data privacy in mind, the app only functioned within 121 S Main St during the set study period (November 6th - November 17th). The app functioned by logging received signals from Bluetooth beacons and Wi-Fi access points in the School of Public Health.
The data and insights gleaned will be used to conduct realistic infectious disease simulations.
What is MAPPING@Brown?
The MAPPING@Brown app allows registered users to initiate Bluetooth and Wi-Fi scanning with a single click. Study participants were asked to enable scanning whenever they were at 121 S Main St.
If awarded a center grant through NSF’s Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention (PIPP) Phase II, MAPPS will conduct a campus-wide version of MAPPING@Brown in the coming years. During PIPP Phase II, MAPPS plans to experiment with integrating different modes of mobility, social mixing, and biometric data collection. On a 5-10 year horizon we hope to see our data collection, storage, and modeling tools in use in a variety of congregate settings beyond Brown (e.g., long-term care facilities, university campuses, and cruise ships).
Follow the links below to learn more about each thrust’s contributions to MAPPING@Brown during PIPP Phase I.
A grid of Bluetooth beacons was installed on the ceiling using magnets. Existing Wi-Fi access points, like the one pictured here, were also part of data collection infrastructure.
