Meyers is excited to welcome these new researchers. She said, Not only are UT undergrads bright and hardworking, but they bring fresh perspectives and a passion for making a difference in the world. Students in the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium have conducted analyses that have helped the city of Austin and the world to understand and more safely navigate this unprecedented threat.

Becky Kester, project manager at the consortium added that, UT students skills, curiosity, and drive contribute in many ways be it working on the way COVID-19 and influenza might interact or working on reports about limiting the transmission of diseases.

Kester said while she knew UT undergraduates were eager to participate and get involved, she was still pleasantly surprised by this overwhelmingly enthusiastic response. This call will provide an unparalleled new opportunity for countless students looking to do impactful work remotely much like it did with Ingle who started this past summer and will be continuing to volunteer her time there.

For her first project at the consortium, Ingle leveraged modeling to better allocate resources for the city of Austin. People who test positive for COVID-19 are highly advised to self isolate for the duration of their infectious period. However, not everybody has the privilege of a safe place to stay. In response to this, the city of Austin wanted to provide isolation rooms to aid its homeless population. They reached out to the UT COVID research consortium for an estimate on how many rooms they should book and Ingle was tasked with projecting this number.

Her work leverages a Meyers labs COVID-19 model which uses real-time data and statistical probability to project the number of people in Austin who would contract the virus. In collaboration with the city of Austin, public health, and the Dell Medical school, Ingle was able to determine what proportion of people experiencing homelessness would be tested and how many of those would test positive. With these parameters, they were then able to estimate the total number of individuals who would need an isolation room at any given time.

Ultimately, our projections helped the city of Austin finalize lease agreements for isolation facilities, said Ingle. It was incredibly inspiring to see exactly how scientific research can shape public health outcomes in a positive way.

Ingle said she was most drawn to this project because of her past experience at the clinic.

I have a background working with people experiencing homelessness in a clinical setting and this particular project just stood out as a way for me to remain engaged in helping that population from a public policy angle and being able to help shape public policies that would most benefit them.

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UT Students Rise to the Occasion of Pandemic Research - UT News - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin