Wired: When it Comes to Disease, Why Wait for a Pandemic to Respond?
Andres Colubri, computational researcher at Sabeti Lab; Todd Brown, award-winning teacher; and Pardis C. Sabeti, professor at Harvard University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

“…Advances in diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics hold great promise in preventing and responding to epidemics. Simulations…, however, have an important role in education, preparedness, and data generation. … Simulations provide a means of emotional and behavioral preparation, offering opportunities to reflect on how decision-making processes can be disrupted by conflicts of interest, chaos, and fear. … Ultimately simulations make clear, as in real life, that preparation and cooperation are essential elements for a successful response to outbreaks. And they increase our empathy, allowing us to see first-hand how challenging it might be to be a scientist fighting disease, a health care worker taking care of patients, or a government official planning and executing an effective response to an emergency situation. Why wait for a pandemic to learn such important lessons?” (3/13).