On Jan. 8, 2025, UC San Diego Today announced UC San Diego as one of three partner institutions selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to participate in the Community and Household Acute Respiratory Illness Monitoring Network, alongside the University of Washington and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The initiative is funded by a $5.7 million grant and led by Dr. Louise Laurent, professor at UCSD’s School of Medicine, in collaboration with Scripps Research, San Ysidro Health, and The Global Action Research Center. It aims to study the transmission of respiratory viruses within communities and households. The School of Medicine will work with the University of Washington and Beth Israel to improve epidemiological surveillance and public health responses.
The CHARM Network is focused on promoting efforts to monitor the mechanism by which respiratory viruses like influenza and coronaviruses spread. The initiative will collect extensive health data from three primary study cohorts: longitudinal, immunological, and household.
Over the next five years, UCSD will partake in the Preparedness through Respiratory Virus Epidemiology and Community Engagement initiative under the CDC’s framework. PREVENT will have approximately 2,000 participants from the San Diego region to collect comprehensive health data and thereby improve public health interventions and provide real-time insights to health authorities.
The cohorts mentioned will provide data through clinical testing, surveys, and biospecimen collection, which are then analyzed to track virus behavior, immune responses, and disease spread within households. The data will be managed through a central data hub operated jointly by UCSD and Scripps Research, ensuring that findings are nationally readily accessible as well. The CDC is the primary agency that will utilize the collected data.
In an interview with UC San Diego Today, Laurent said, “Responding to COVID-19 was a real challenge, but programs like the CHARM Network can ensure that we are better equipped to handle future pandemics. The substantial and varied accomplishments of the PREVENT team will serve as a strong foundation for the initiative, and it’s an honor for UC San Diego to be able to lead this crucial effort.”
UCSD will serve as the CHARM Network’s central data hub, overseeing protocol development, data management, and the dissemination of findings. This role positions the University at the forefront of pandemic preparedness and response efforts.
Researchers will use the longitudinal cohorts to track virus spread and behavior trends over time to see how pathogens evolve and circulate. The immunological assessment groups will be used to evaluate immune responses and their longevity, and data from the household transmission cohorts will be analyzed to understand how viruses spread among cohabitants. These efforts will provide critical insights to inform public health strategies and pandemic response planning.
Some students believe that UCSD’s participation in the CHARM Network will fundamentally change how UCSD handles future health emergencies.
“This project shows that the University is taking a proactive stance on pandemic preparedness,” third-year Alex Martinez said.
Students with backgrounds in epidemiology and data science are excited about the project’s potential to advance scientific understanding of virus transmission.
“This initiative is a really good opportunity to leverage genomic sequencing and data analytics to track respiratory illnesses more effectively,” bioinformatics graduate student Megan Chen said. “By being able to integrate community-level data with advanced modeling techniques like that, we can better predict and respond to future outbreaks.”
For students who lived through the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of being adequately prepared is not lost.
“We saw firsthand how unprepared institutions were in 2020,” graduate student Serena Patel said. “If this project can help avoid the chaos we experienced, it’s an investment worth making. But I hope students are included in the conversation, not just studied.”
Students also expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and direct involvement in decision-making, emphasizing that, while the CHARM Network presents an opportunity for groundbreaking research and enhanced pandemic response, it must also prioritize equity, mental health, and institutional transparency to effectively shape UCSD’s preparedness strategy.
“Pandemics affect more than just physical health; they impact our mental well-being,” first-year Chris Nguyen said. “I hope UCSD considers mental health support as part of its preparedness strategy.”
UCSD students are hoping to see more inclusion in the decision making process.“It’s great that research is happening, but students should have a seat at the table,” first-year Rachel Gomez said. “We are the ones living through these policies, and our input is crucial.”
