Northeastern Named CDC Influenza Modeling Center
The Boston university is one of five centers in a national CDC network focused on influenza modeling and forecasting.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Diseases — General
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The CDC selected Northeastern University as one of five centers in the National Network of Influenza Modeling and Forecasting. The university received a $473,342 grant for the research, with the selection announced at an Oct. 21 faculty senate meeting.
Why it matters
The network is designed to improve how public health officials anticipate influenza activity, drawing on modeling expertise built during the COVID-19 pandemic. Northeastern's selection places Boston-based researchers within a national effort to strengthen infectious disease forecasting.
Northeastern received a $473,342 grant for its share of the network's work, one of five CDC-selected centers nationally. The source does not detail the grant's duration or the specific forecasting outputs expected from the program.
The players
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The U.S. federal public health agency responsible for disease surveillance, prevention, and the national influenza modeling network.
Northeastern University
A private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, known for its Network Science Institute and infectious disease modeling work.
Alessandro Vespignani
A Northeastern University professor who directs the institution's modeling efforts and studies how complex networks influence epidemic spread.
The details
Northeastern will work alongside the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the University of Texas at Austin within the CDC network. The selection was announced by interim provost Tom Sheahan at an Oct. 21 faculty senate meeting and recorded on the Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System website.
Timeline
2023: CDC issued Northeastern a $17.5 million grant to launch the Epistorm infectious disease prediction center.
COVID-19 pandemic: Northeastern led epidemiology work through its Network Science Institute.
Oct. 21: Faculty senate meeting where the CDC selection was announced.
Big Picture
The selection extends the CDC's 2023 $17.5 million investment in Northeastern's Epistorm prediction center into a dedicated influenza modeling role. It shows the agency building on existing university partnerships rather than creating new forecasting infrastructure from scratch.
The network aims to improve influenza forecasting that public health officials use to plan responses. Residents may see its effects indirectly through earlier or more accurate flu season guidance from health agencies.
The takeaway
Better influenza forecasting depends on sustained investment in modeling partnerships between federal agencies and research universities. Following how these networks perform will show whether earlier warnings translate into practical public health gains.
Further reading
Explore more disease news to see how influenza research and forecasting fit into the broader public health picture.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Huntington News.
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