National Science Foundation (NSF); Incorporating Human Behavior in Epidemiological Models

Due: Monday, July 14, 2025

Funding Amount: Up to $1 Million

Note: As federal funding agencies are undergoing program review to comply with the presidential administration’s funding priorities, this opportunity may be subject to delay or cancellation.

ABOUT: The purpose of the Incorporating Human Behavior in Epidemiological Models activity is to support interdisciplinary collaborations that integrate research on behavioral and/or social processes in mathematical epidemiological models. Projects supported under this activity should be collaborative in nature and depend on the coordinated interaction of two or more PIs/co-PIs, with integrated participation from both the mathematical sciences and the social, behavioral, or economic sciences. Additional participants from other disciplines, especially the biological sciences, are also welcome.

Each project should focus on a significant and well-delineated research challenge that integrates behavioral and social processes into mathematical epidemiological models. Examples of research challenges include, but not are limited to: Behavioral realism and sensitivity analysis; Incorporation of behavioral change; Incorporation of multiple environments: climate, seasonal, political, social; Incorporation of population heterogeneity and policy models; Data needs for rich mathematical epidemiological models.

Projects need not focus on human pathogens or human hosts, although such research must still incorporate human behavior and/or social processes. Examples of research on non-human systems include: how changes in behaviors or farming practices affect the transmission of foot-and-mouth disease, how economic factors affect the global spread of pathogens through the pet trade, or how hunting affects the spread of prions in wild game.

APPLY: For a detailed program description, please follow the link to the NSF’s Incorporating Human Behavior in Epidemiological Models program page. 

NOTE: If you are interested in applying or have any questions, please contact our Pre-Award Specialists Pia Gabriel at pg12@humboldt.edu, Kaz Wegmuller at kaz.wegmuller@humboldt.edu, or Jocelyne Takatsuno at jt366@humboldt.edu  before June 14, 2025.