After the epidemic map became popular--
Demystifying Johns Hopkins University
Author: reporter Deng Hui
With the spread of the new coronavirus worldwide, transparent and real epidemic data have attracted much attention. For a period of time, in many real-time visualization data publishing platforms, the outbreak data of Johns Hopkins University has frequently appeared in the reports and analysis of multinational media and institutions, including the United States.
Relevant data show that since the epidemic data was launched on January 22, the average daily usage has increased from 200 million times at the end of January to 1.2 billion times a day at the beginning of March, and nearly 2 billion times a day at the peak.
There are so many organizations and websites for statistical data, why is Johns Hopkins' data more popular? What kind of school is this? What are the characteristics in scientific research and teaching? What cooperation does it have with Chinese universities?
Behind the hot epidemic map:
Authoritative university research strength is "endorsed"
As a core development member of Johns Hopkins University's epidemic visualization data graph, Du Hongru, a first-year doctoral student in the School of Civil and Systems Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, has been "connecting and turning" for a long time in the past. He told reporters that this epidemic visualization data graph was developed by his mentor and associate professor Lauren Gardner of the school ’s System Science and Engineering Research Center. The original core members were only him and another Chinese student. Dong Ensheng.
"In the beginning, this system was called 'Johns Hopkins University System Science and Engineering Research Center epidemic visualization data map'." Du Hongru introduced that in January this year, the new coronary pneumonia epidemic has not yet spread worldwide When he got up, Dong Ensheng reached an agreement with his mentor to make an epidemic data map, which was completed on January 22 and the earliest version was published. The earliest data collection is completely manual sorting, and it can be updated up to 4-5 times a day. However, with the development of the epidemic, such a working mode is difficult to continue. On February 1, Du Hongru began to join. After entering March, the data can be automatically updated every 20 minutes, and manual review is added to ensure the accuracy of the data.
Du Hongru told reporters that his work is mainly divided into two stages: "In the manual collection stage, it is mainly responsible for data collection and consolidation and updating of US data; after entering the automatic update stage, I am mainly responsible for writing automatic update code, and also responsible for maintenance The Github database verifies the accuracy of the data by comparing WHO data. "In addition, in order to continuously improve the visualization effect, the R & D team also revised the data map several times.
The reporter noticed that the epidemic data map of Johns Hopkins University is not "the only one". With the spread of the epidemic around the world, Harvard University and Oxford University, the US CDC official, and the New York Times, CNN and other media have built their own data distribution system. There are so many “opponents”. Why does the data of Johns Hopkins University attract so much attention? During the interview, several experts told reporters that the United States is a federal country, and each state can formulate different epidemic prevention measures according to its own situation, so the update speed and accuracy of the CDC map are very limited. Behind the popularity of Johns Hopkins University's epidemic data map, there are occasional factors such as "the earliest start" and it is also related to the authority of Johns Hopkins University in the field of medicine and public health.
“The“ popularity ”of Johns Hopkins’ epidemic data graph is mainly due to two reasons. First, they collected and collected the epidemic data from the Chinese website Lilac Garden, the United States and the European Center for Disease Control in a timely manner. The data covers the whole world. Timely update, completeness and timeliness even surpassed the WHO website; Second, Johns Hopkins University has a long history and strong strength in medical and public health research, and the public is more willing to trust its authority as an academic institution and Independence. The development of this data system is only a very specific job, the social effect is the main, and the academic value is secondary. The research strength of Hopkins University is their main recognition by the public and the media at the critical moment of the epidemic. Reason. "Hong Bo, a professor at Tsinghua University School of Medicine, told reporters.
In addition, Xue Lei, deputy dean of the Hospital Management Institute of Tsinghua University, believes that compared with other data publishing platforms, the interface of Johns Hopkins University epidemic situation visual data publishing is easy to navigate and read, and it is updated most frequently. After the system is upgraded, the data can be automatically fetched, with high instantaneousness. "In this process, it is commendable that Johns Hopkins University's strong academic sensitivity. After discovering that the epidemic data map is" fire ", the school quickly gave the relevant teams strong support to ensure The sustainability and professionalism of this work. "Xue Lei said.
However, in the update process, this epidemic data map has also had big mistakes. For example, at 8 a.m. Beijing time on April 14th, it had misreported "2 million confirmed cases worldwide."
"Because we are making a map of the global epidemic situation, but the reporting standards of each country have been changing. For example, Spain will suddenly introduce suspected cases, but we sometimes cannot reflect this change in time because of language barriers. So now the school provides us with A large team was doing this, and the system was also renamed to 'Johns Hopkins University Epidemic Visualization Data Map'. Many researchers in libraries and applied physics laboratories have provided us with great help. .At present, all data has been automatically updated, only need to do some manual work to deal with abnormal situations. "Du Hongru introduced that his current focus has shifted to mathematical modeling, that is, more on the basis of data display Analysis and prediction, "One is to assess the effectiveness of the existing US epidemic response policy, and the second is to accurately predict the trend of the epidemic at the county level."
The rules of a century-old school:
Attach importance to scientific research and stay at the forefront
Compared with the rapid "popular" epidemic data map, in China, Johns Hopkins University itself is not as famous as some traditional Ivy League universities. But in fact, all these 144-year-old universities are not only the first research universities in the United States, but also the world's top private universities. The 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings show that the school ranks 12th in the world and 9th in the United States.
Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876. The main campus is located in Baltimore, Maryland, on the Atlantic coast of the United States, more than 60 kilometers from Washington, the capital of the United States. Whether it is teaching or scientific research, Johns Hopkins University has strong characteristics, and is even called "German university built in the United States."
"Since modern times, German universities have attached great importance to the principle of academic freedom, the integration of teaching and research, and they have had a profound impact on higher education in the United States and countries around the world. In 1873, Johns Hopkins, a banker in Baltimore, Maryland, A $ 7 million worth of inheritance, equivalent to $ 3 billion today, was split in half and donated to Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital named after him, hoping to be able to Imitating the German university model represented by Humboldt University, abandoning the stereotypes of American colleges and creating a university focused on research. It is precisely because of such genes that scientific research is continuing from Johns Hopkins University to the present. Tradition. "Since 2014, Xue Lei and Johns Hopkins University interacted frequently because of the cooperation in student training projects. In his eyes, this university has distinctive characteristics:" First, we attach great importance to scientific research and we contact Of the professors in the school, a considerable portion of their salaries are paid for by scientific research funds. Without scientific research funds, it is difficult for professors to stay. Second, the teacher-student ratio is very high. The teacher-student ratio of many universities in China is 1:15 or even 1:20, and Hopkins University is only 1: 8, which makes it possible to conduct small classes in many of its classrooms. The third is more pragmatic and emphasizes social responsibility, many in the world All developing countries have public health research projects. "
Hong Bo once visited and studied at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for two years. He told reporters that as the first research university in the United States, the scientific research and teaching of Johns Hopkins University teachers are closely integrated, and students also Can deeply participate in laboratory research: "The research atmosphere of Johns Hopkins University is more calm and calm compared with Harvard and MIT. It is not so" following the trend ". The rate of professors obtaining tenure is higher. The depth of academic research The breadth of interdisciplinarity is very prominent among the top universities in the United States. "
In terms of teaching, Johns Hopkins University's undergraduate education curriculum design focuses on stimulating students' interest and imagination. The core courses are very difficult and challenging, and it is common for students to choose courses across departments and transfer majors. Hong Bo knows more about the teaching of the school ’s biomedical engineering discipline: "They integrate the core courses required by students into a few courses, let the most senior professors lecture to undergraduates, bring their cutting-edge materials to the classroom, and integrate In the homework, it is a typical research teaching. In recent years, the school ’s biomedical engineering department has set up a biomedical engineering innovation design course, allowing students to form small groups and conduct open and practical team learning on the topic of real problems from the clinic. And organize design competitions to improve students ’innovation and design abilities in solving practical clinical problems. The Department of Biomedical Engineering of Tsinghua University School of Medicine has also incorporated this concept into the reform of undergraduate training programs."
Specific to the public health discipline and the medical field, for more than a century, Johns Hopkins University and its hospitals have been recognized as the world leader in medical, scientific research and teaching. In the entire Johns Hopkins In the Sri Lankan university system, there are more than 25,000 medical researchers, doctors, nurses, technicians, experts and volunteers in various clinical specialties. Information from the school's public health school official website shows that its public health research areas include epidemiology, biostatistics, biochemistry and molecular biology, health policy and management, global health, environmental health engineering, healthy behavior and society, population, family and fertility , Molecular microbiology and immunology, mental health and other 10 directions.
"Hopkins University puts the development of medical disciplines at an important strategic position, which allows professors to always stand at the forefront of the interdisciplinary life sciences, medicine, and medical engineering. At the same time, the reputation of Hopkins University comes largely from Hopkins Hospital, which has been ranked first in the United States. Its medical school has also been on a par with Harvard Medical School. "Hong Bo believes that the close combination of basic medical research and clinical diagnosis and treatment is the biggest feature and advantage of the school ’s medical discipline. "The research laboratory of the Hopkins University School of Medicine and Hopkins Hospital are just across the street, and there are multiple bridges in the middle. It is easy for scientists and doctors to come together to cooperate and innovate. It is the emphasis on basic science and In the cross-integration of clinical medicine, a total of 27 teachers or alumni of the school won the Nobel Prize, 16 of which won the Physiology and Medicine Award. "
"Medical medicine is indeed in a very important position at Hopkins University. I didn't know much about the field of public health before I entered the school, but the three projects I did in the first year of my Ph.D. were all related to hospitals and public health. Many of our team groups They are opened together with the Public Health College. "Du Hongru said.
Hong Bo also introduced that, in addition to being in the forefront of the United States in the fields of medicine, biomedical engineering, and public health, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is also a world-renowned space exploration And the cutting-edge technology research center, developed and launched the Pluto probe New Horizon (New Horizon), the solar probe Parker and so on.
The challenges of scientific cooperation for more than 100 years:
U.S. government policy is the biggest uncertainty
It is worth noting that this university, which is not well known to the domestic public, actually had inextricably linked with China as early as a hundred years ago.
Relevant information shows that Peking Union Medical College Hospital, which is a household name in China, was built in 1921 with the funding of the Rockefeller Foundation in the United States, following the model of Johns Hopkins Hospital. In recent years, the cooperation between Johns Hopkins University and Chinese universities has increased.
In 2005, after returning to Tsinghua from Johns Hopkins University, Hong Bo promoted the cooperation between the two universities in the field of biomedical engineering together with Professor Wang Xiaoqin from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. In 2009, the two universities established the Tsinghua-Hopkins University Biomedical Engineering Joint Research Center. In 2018, the two universities cooperated to establish an international dual degree program in biomedical engineering. "As of now, our two schools have carried out many academic seminars in the fields of neuroengineering, tissue engineering, medical imaging, etc., and arranged nearly 100 teacher visits and student exchanges. In recent years, Tsinghua University has also cooperated with Hopkins The University's Institute of Advanced International Studies has jointly established the Tsinghua-Hopkins SAIS Global Politics and Economics dual master's program, and the Hopkins University School of Public Health co-founded a doctorate program in public health. "Hong Bo introduced.
In addition, public information also shows that in recent years, Johns Hopkins University has cooperated with many Chinese hospitals and universities such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Fudan University.
"Under the new situation of China's comprehensive promotion of the reform of the medical and health system, the research on the management system, operation mechanism and management model of hospitals is in urgent need of further strengthening and innovation, in order to train expert management talents with leadership potential in the field of medical health In order to further improve the overall public health service level, we began to jointly train doctors of public health with Johns Hopkins University in 2016, and 25 people per year have now enrolled 100 people. In addition to a small number of online courses, we must Tsinghua University and Johns Hopkins University have conducted intensive courses. "After four years of cooperation, Xue Lei lamented that both schools have increased awareness and formed a profound friendship in this cooperation.
At present, the epidemic of New Coronary Pneumonia is spreading all over the world. In the interview, many interviewees said that the disease has no borders, and should avoid the artificial obstacles caused by the politicization of immunization. The world should jointly respond to the epidemic through powerful, multi-level, transnational, and coordinated measures. The world Scientists should strengthen cooperation and sharing.
"From the data point of view, the United States is currently the world's worst epidemic. China's epidemic prevention and control is a good example for other countries. I hope that countries in the world can refer to China's prevention and control methods to control the global epidemic as soon as possible. "Du Hongru said.
"The current new coronary pneumonia epidemic has exposed human health to unprecedented challenges, and once again prompted the extreme importance of global public health research cooperation and the cultivation of leading public health talents." Hong Bo said, "Previously, the two schools have already taken steps to jointly develop public health doctors An important step has been taken, and a group of outstanding medical and public health doctors and scholars have come out of this project. Not long ago, Tsinghua University just established the School of Public Health and Health, and received a report from Johns Hopkins University. Warm congratulations from the Dean of the School of Public Health. "
Cooperation is continuing, but scholars are not denying that at present, Sino-US relations are at an important juncture, and the cooperation of scientists is also facing practical difficulties and challenges.
"We hope that based on the joint training program of public health doctors from the two universities, we will conduct in-depth research on relevant health management policies after the epidemic. But the most uncertain factor that extends to the cooperation between the entire Chinese and American scientific communities is the policy of the US government. Xue Lei said, "At present, Sino-US relations are becoming tense, and even have begun to affect research cooperation that should not be politicized. Under the deliberate guidance of some people in the US government, some American people have begun to have hostile opinions on China However, the voices of scientists and scholars who hold rational views cannot be taken seriously. Last year, under the pressure of some departments of the US government, many universities reviewed projects in cooperation with Chinese universities. To carry out in-depth cooperation on a large scale, American scholars must bear considerable pressure. "
(Reporter Deng Hui)