WHO WE ARE
Sentinel is an outbreak surveillance framework, designed to detect pathogenic threats in real-time and prepare the global community to stop diseases before they spread. It is a joint effort between the Institute of Genomics and Global Health (IGH) and the Broad Institute along with partner organizations around the world. Sentinel’s framework serves as a comprehensive pandemic prevention system based on the capability to DETECT circulating pathogens, CONNECT data and systems to provide actionable insights for public health officials, and EMPOWER local communities with the capacity to prevent and respond to a pandemic with tools and education.
The foundation for Sentinel was laid over two decades through a 20-year partnership between Prof. Christian Happi, a Nigerian infectious disease expert, and Prof. Pardis Sabeti, a U.S.-based computational geneticist. Over the years this collaboration has established operational programs in Nigeria and Sierra Leone that connect health workers in rural clinics and hospitals with national and international public health leadership
The Sentinel team has designed and developed tools to DETECT priority pathogens with pandemic potential using genomic, CRISPR-based and machine learning technologies. We are focused on developing field-deployable sensitive and specific assays that can rapidly address shifting public health priorities and a changing pathogen landscape.
Providing a comprehensive approach to disease surveillance
Putting pathogen surveillance data in the hands of those who need it, in an easy to understand format
Sentinel’s dashboard and analytics platform CONNECTS pathogen detection data with existing public health data, into intuitive outputs so local and regional public health officers can easily track emerging pathogen transmission and epidemiological patterns.
Supporting scientific capacity to maximize the impact of disease surveillance efforts
Through training and expansion of sequencing capacity, Sentinel EMPOWERS scientists and public health officials throughout Africa with the skills and tools needed to carry out pathogen surveillance, viral sequencing, and pandemic prevention.
