Infectious Disease Modelling Conference 2024

by Andra, Mousumi, and Zhi

Our Journey to the First Southeast Asian Infectious Disease Modelling Conference!

Last week, we had the chance to attend the Infectious Disease Modelling Conference 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. This was actually quite special because it’s the first modeling conference hosted in Southeast Asia! Usually, the big conference in our field, EPIDEMICS, is held in Europe or North America, so having one in our region was really exciting.

The conference was organised by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute (HKJCGHI) and HITAP Thailand, with support from D24H and the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong. This conference focuses on a few key objectives: 1) cutting edge research, methods and tools in infectious disease mdoelling; 2) policy relevance; 3) strengthening LMICs capacity; 4) region-specific challenges; and 5) equitable access to modelling tools - see their website for more details!

From our group, Andra, Mousumi, Xinyi, and Zhi went to Bangkok to present their work through talks and posters. One of the cool things about the conference was that they had special sessions for early career researchers. Andra was actually part of the early career researcher committee for this conference (he’ll tell you more about this in a bit!).

It wasn’t just about presenting our work though - we finally got to meet people we’d only been emailing or having online meetings with! It was really nice to be able to chat face-to-face with collaborators and making new connections over coffee breaks and nice dinners.

The conference had everything you’d expect - presentations, plenary talks, posters - but with the addition of the warmth of Bangkok which made it so special (we’re biased of course!). It was great to be part of this first edition, and we’re really hoping to attend the second one soon!

Personal reflections

Andra

What a conference IDM was! The first time I went to a conference not only to present my work but also as a part of the organising committee. I would like to give a shout-out to my fellow ECR committee, Hat, Ja, and Thinh - it was really great working with you all and, of course, with all the scientific and organising committees. It was a unique experience in which I learned a lot from.

As an ECR committee, we organised three sessions where we were given much freedom to think about what early career researchers would benefit from. We came up with three different sessions:

1) ECR sandbox where ECRs were given a chance to give a rapid 5-minute talk about their research, and we encouraged ongoing and early phase research to be presented here. The idea came from how often, as an ECR, you have a limited chance to talk at a conference until you get to the stage of your study. Having this session would ensure that people at the early stage of their study or research could also come, network, and get feedback on their ongoing work!

2) ECR career paths, where we invited people from different careers after they finished their modelling PhD. We had people working in the government, NGOs and donors, as well as academia!

3) ECR network of networks where networks of ECR working on infectious disease modelling meet and discuss challenges in growing their community and opportunities to work together in the future. We may have some collaborative work in the near future, so please stay tuned!

Outside of organising, I also presented a poster on our recently started dengue modelling project, which focused on estimating the subnational force of infection and the burden of dengue in Indonesia. I also had the chance to chair a couple of sessions on vector-borne disease and data analysis. It was a really cool experience! I thought it was going to be really hard at the beginning, but actually, you become more focused on the talk when you’re chairing a session, so you actually could come up with more questions.

But for me, it was also more like a reunion with old friends. I got the chance to meet many of my friends from Imperial College London again, as well as friends from MIDSEA, although we just recently met in summer school a few months ago.

Overall, it was a good conference with so many great talks. As with everyone, I hope to attend the second edition of the IDM conference!

Mousumi

For me, it was more than just a conference — it was an enriching experience. Despite my hectic schedule and coming directly from my vacation, my first visit to Bangkok was refreshing. The vibrant atmosphere and meeting the energetic and extremely welcoming locals made it a wonderful experience.

I was particularly excited to present my work, as this was my first in-person talk at a conference. Since most of my PhD journey took place during COVID, all of my previous conference presentations had been online. During my talk, I highlighted the role of human mobility in infectious disease modeling and how we can incorporate this factor into our models.

I had the privilege of listening to the great talks and engaging with leading researchers in this field. This conference gave me a broader perspective on infectious disease modeling, including how to think critically as a modeler and effectively communicate with various stakeholders. It was also a pleasure to reconnect with the MIDSEA group after a few months.

Attending this conference was a truly rewarding experience. I gained new insights, grew as a researcher, and left with fresh ideas to explore. I look forward to joining future events and continuing to learn and contribute to this research community.

Zhi

From November 6 to 8, 2024, I had the privilege of attending the Infectious Disease Modelling Conference (IDM 2024) at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok in Thailand. This was my second visit to Bangkok. Despite IDM being a first-time event, the organizers demonstrated meticulous attention to detail in every aspect, including accommodation arrangements, venue setup, recording equipment, and catering services. During the conference, they thoughtfully scheduled multiple panel discussions covering topics such as economic-epidemiological modeling, regional modeling capacity building, and presentations by early-career researchers. I had the opportunity to present a talk on individual-level contact heterogeneity in the panel “Global Perspectives on Social Contact Patterns.”

At this conference, I was delighted to reconnect / be familiar with with many friends from Imperial College London, the Machine Learning & Global Health Network, and MIDSEA network. Some of the people and I participated in the collaboration of certain projects. IDM provided a valuable platform for us to delve into the latest developments and challenges in our field. We’ve got new insights and directions for future research from each other.

I am very pleased to have participated in this conference and have learned a great deal from it. The success of IDM 2024 has undoubtedly set a high standard for future conferences, and I look forward to engaging the 2nd IDM conference.

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