Daniel Larremore, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and in the BioFrontiers Institute, relies on math to track the spread of human diseases. In April, Larremore joined a nationwide study that is using social media data to better understand how the coronavirus spreads.  

The COVID-19 Mobility Data Network draws on huge volumes of anonymized location information supplied by Facebook to explore how groups of people move from spot to spot over time. That data allows the researchers to build maps that show where people are still traveling in the age of social distancing. 

He and his colleagues will provide these maps to local public health leaders so they can craft more efficient policies to help slow the spread of the virus.