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The key to defeating COVID? Harnessing the power of big data.

COVID research happening at UTSA illustrates why big data matters, and why educating a new generation of data scientists is critical to our future.

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UTSA

Drew Vincent, Senior Communications & Content Strategist, The University of Texas at San Antonio

The coronavirus’ impact on our community and economy has made it clear that beating COVID and future pandemics depends on our ability to understand and interpret data.

To address the challenges posed by the pandemic, researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio are using “big data” — processing large amounts of information to detect patterns that can lead to previously unavailable insights — to better understand the virus and find innovative ways to protect our communities.

A recent research study to test wastewater for the virus that causes COVID-19 is one such example. Led by assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Vikram Kapoor and Ph.D. student Haya Al-Duroobi, the data-driven pilot proved to be effective in helping local health officials track spread of the disease in our community. As vaccines are distributed, wastewater testing can serve as another method to monitor their impact.

“Researchers are doing work in the lab that complements the efforts of the healthcare workers and other frontliners trying to find solutions. This is a challenge that requires unique solutions, and this is what our scientist engineers are for.”

— Haya Al-Duroobi

Kiran Bhaganagar, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is leading another UTSA project drawing far-reaching COVID insights. Using data collected in New York City last spring, Bhaganagar conducted research measuring the spread of coronavirus in outdoor areas. With a real-time, high-fidelity simulation of a virus-filled cough as it was released into the atmosphere from an infected person, she created highly accurate models that show the likely spread of the virus under various weather patterns. Findings suggested that maintaining a 6-foot distance from others while outdoors may not provide adequate protection from the virus.

On a larger scale, addressing the long-term effects of COVID-19 is one of many grand challenges that lie on our horizon. With this in mind, universities have uniquely positioned themselves to prepare students and educators for a big-data-driven future. UTSA is putting plans into place to create a COVID Data Repository & Portal, a comprehensive source for information that will allow researchers to study the long-term effects of the pandemic.

“Big data is an essential component in not only the fight against COVID-19 but also in addressing future challenges,” says Lynne Cossman, dean of UTSA’s College for Health, Community and Policy, and lead on the COVID Data Repository project. “The ability to take large, interconnected datasets and translate them into impactful solutions is the next big step in problem solving.”

More people with data science training are needed to fill critical jobs in this emerging field. UTSA’s new School of Data Science, which broke ground in January, is focused on producing the data scientists, analysts and researchers of tomorrow that are needed to address the talent vacuum. The new school is the only one of its kind in Texas, and will serve as an anchor to San Antonio’s burgeoning tech corridor.

“San Antonio is poised for leadership as an epicenter for data scientists who can apply big-data solutions to address our community’s toughest challenges,” says Bernard Arulanandam, UTSA vice president for Research, Economic Development and Knowledge Enterprise. “Thanks to the groundbreaking research being done by UTSA faculty and those at our city’s other outstanding research institutions, we’re seeing a serious investment in future data pioneers, coupled with a desire to integrate data in decision-making. That’s a powerful combination.”