Sentinel: Strengthening Surveillance Capacity in West Africa for Preparedness and Response

Dr. Al Ozonoff, Senior Advisor to the Director of Pandemic Preparedness at the Broad Institute and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, will present an overview of Sentinel, a collaborative initiative between the Broad Institute and the Institute of Genomics and Global Health in Nigeria. This program aims to strengthen outbreak preparedness and response in West Africa by building local capacity in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Through the deployment of low-cost diagnostics, real-time data systems, and genomic surveillance training, Sentinel empowers local scientists and public health leaders to respond more effectively to infectious disease threats. The session will highlight how strategic investments in regional surveillance networks can drive more resilient, equitable global health systems.

This event is free and open to the public.

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Al Ozonoff, PhD
Senior Advisor to Pardis Sabeti, Director of Pandemic Preparedness at the Broad Institute; Associate Professor at HMS

Dr. Al Ozonoff is a researcher trained in mathematics, statistics, epidemiology, and data science, focused on improving population health through better surveillance of disease. His work spans public health, infectious disease, and hospital-based surveillance. He has over two decades of research experience and has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Ozonoff completed his doctoral training in mathematics at UC Santa Barbara and his postdoctoral work in biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has led multiple federally funded projects, including a CDC project on methods for syndromic surveillance and an AHRQ-funded project to conduct patient safety surveillance using machine learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he directed the Clinical and Data Coordinating Center for IMPACC, a national immunophenotyping study funded by the NIH. At the Broad, he directs the Sentinel program which aims to strengthen surveillance capacity in West Africa.

About the Global Research and Innovation Speaker Series

The Harvard Global Health Institute’s Global Health Research and Innovation Speaker Series showcases the latest scholarly and scientific advancements in global health across Harvard and beyond, to make cutting-edge research accessible to a diverse global audience, and to spark innovative solutions in the pursuit of health equity and improved health outcomes worldwide. The public series takes place virtually on the second Tuesday of each month from 12:00 to 12:45 pm ET. Each session will include a presentation by a featured speaker showcasing their innovative research in global health, followed by a moderated Q&A.

The Harvard Global Health Institute provides a platform for different perspectives and debates within the field of global health through a variety of media. The views expressed in these events and programs are solely those of the speakers, authors, researchers, and participating audience. As such, they do not speak for the institute or the university.