PROJECT TRANSFORM

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Effective outbreak response depends on timely insights into how pathogens spread. Historical

lessons—from Ebola and smallpox to COVID-19—show that understanding transmission

dynamics enables faster, more effective, and less disruptive interventions. However, generating

these insights in real time requires rigorous outbreak investigations (OIs): coordinated efforts to

trace cases, map transmission chains, and identify environmental and behavioral drivers of

spread.

In the U.S., conducting and synthesizing OI findings remains a significant operational challenge.

States vary in how public health responsibilities are organized, making it difficult to adapt

successful approaches across jurisdictions. As a result, the U.S. often lags behind peer countries

in producing and using “transmission intelligence” during outbreaks.

The Transmission-informed Outbreak Response & Mitigation Project (Project TransFORM) seeks

to strengthen the speed and effectiveness of outbreak investigations across U.S. jurisdictions.

Our approach is to develop a set of universal exercises and simulations that test the speed and effectiveness of each step in outbreak investigations.  The outcomes of these exercises permit jursidictiosn to  can  that can b operational best practices as well as challenges in outbreak investigations, develop tools to help jurisdictions characterize their investigation processes, and create practical innovations for faster, more coordinated responses.

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