CSH Public Lecture

How to manage scarce resources globally

Jukka-Pekka Onnela
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Harvard University, Boston

Cell phones, Social Networks, Crowds, and Digital Phenotyping

Abstract: Cell phones are now ubiquitous: it is estimated that the number of phones in use exceeds the size of the global population in 2015. I will talk about two main lines of work in our lab. First, we use call detail records (CDRs) to investigate the structure of large-scale social networks and their relationship to underlying geography. We also use these data to study population dynamics at massive gatherings of people and to inform models of epidemic spread, in particular cluster randomized trials. Second, we have coined the term digital phenotyping to refer to the moment-by-moment quantification of the individual-level human phenotype, in situ, using data from digital devices. Using a dedicated smartphone application, we collect active data (surveys, voice samples, etc.) and passive data (spatial location, social engagement, etc.) from consenting patients and analyze these data using modern statistical learning methods. I will talk about some of our work that utilizes these two approaches, what types of insights they may yield to the study of social networks and human behavior, and how this work interfaces with public health.

» Website Onnela Lab Harvard T.H. Chan – School of Public Health

When: Thursday, April 16, 2015, 14:00-15:00

Where: Medical University of Vienna, CeMSIIS, Jugenstilhörsaal, BT 88, 2nd floor, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna

Host: Stefan Thurner – Institut f. Wissenschaft Komplexer Systeme, Medizinische Universität Wien CeMSIIS A-1090 Wien, Spitalgasse 23 stefan.thurner@meduniwien.ac.at