Return to homepagePandemic Pact

ADVANCING PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE THROUGH HIGH-QUALITY DATA AND AI

Grant number: 101290677

Grant search

Key facts

  • Disease

    Disease X
  • Start & end year

    2026
    2030
  • Known Financial Commitments (USD)

    $8,012,763.77
  • Funder

    European Commission
  • Principal Investigator

    N/A

  • Research Location

    Australia
  • Lead Research Institution

    IDENER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AIE
  • Research Priority Alignment

    N/A
  • Research Category

    Epidemiological studies

  • Research Subcategory

    Impact/ effectiveness of control measures

  • Special Interest Tags

    Data Management and Data Sharing

  • Study Type

    Unspecified

  • Clinical Trial Details

    N/A

  • Broad Policy Alignment

    Pending

  • Age Group

    Unspecified

  • Vulnerable Population

    Unspecified

  • Occupations of Interest

    Unspecified

Abstract

AURORAI strengthens EU's capacity to act swiftly and effectively against future pandemics, including unknown pathogens (Disease X), by harnessing AI and high-quality, trustworthy data. The project develops a unified platform of explainable, ethical, and fast-learning AI tools that address the key barriers to pandemic resilience: fragmented data, limited forecasting ability, weak early-warning systems, and complex decision-making under uncertainty. AURORAI delivers five main innovations. First, a Decentralised Knowledge Graph (DKG) will serve as EU's trusted, FAIR-compliant data backbone, enabling secure, interoperable, and bias-aware cross-border data use while preserving sovereignty. Second, the Multi-Pathogen Disease X (MP-DX) Modelling Tool will provide rapidly adaptable, explainable models of disease dynamics, grounded in a One Health approach and enhanced by transfer learning for emerging threats. Third, the Early Warning and Outbreaks Prediction (EW-OP) Tool will combine demographic, behavioural, and mobility data to deliver in-time forecasts, "what-if" scenarios, and evaluation of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical countermeasures. Fourth, an AI-agent based Decision Support System (DSS) will integrate heterogeneous data, expert knowledge, and causal reasoning into multi-criteria analyses, supporting proportionate and evidence-based interventions. Finally, a Knowledge Hub (KH) will ensure co-creation with healthcare professionals, policymakers, and citizens, enhancing transparency, trust, and uptake. By embedding social sciences and humanities expertise, AURORAI guarantees societal relevance, ethical compliance, and fairness in AI-driven preparedness. Validated across four use cases and levels (EU, national, and local), AURORAI will empower decision-makers with actionable intelligence, reduce the burden of future pandemics, and strengthen Europe's health resilience.