NASA-Funded Project Adds AI Expertise to Improve Disease Forecasting
Institute for Health Modeling and Climate Solutions (IMACS) joins GEOG–led effort to better predict malaria and dengue outbreaks in Indonesia.
A NASA-funded research project led by GEOG Professor and Chair Tatiana Loboda is advancing with the addition of a key partner that brings artificial intelligence into disease forecasting efforts.
The Institute for Health Modeling and Climate Solutions (IMACS) has joined the initiative, contributing expertise in deep learning and multi-disease forecasting to enhance the project’s ability to predict malaria and dengue outbreaks across Indonesia.
Launched in August 2025, the three-year project integrates satellite-based environmental monitoring, health modeling and artificial intelligence. The goal is to produce high-resolution forecasts that help public health officials target interventions more effectively.
“IMACS brings tremendous expertise in deep learning models, a key component that was previously missing from this project,” said Loboda, the project’s principal investigator. “We’re very fortunate to work with IMACS, which has a unique combination of technical expertise and knowledge of malaria and vector-borne diseases. I don’t know of another team that can do both.”
IMACS is bringing its AI-powered multi-disease forecasting model SPECTRA to the project, which was included in the World Health Organization’s “Casebook on AI Health Use Cases Across the Global South” launched at the India AI Impact Summit in February 2026.
“We’re excited to bring the power of AI to this project,” said Kaushik Sarkar, director of IMACS and co-investigator of the project. “Combined with NASA’s Earth observation information and UMD’s advanced modeling capabilities, we are on the cusp of developing a breakthrough tool. If we are successful, the project will empower local health authorities with high resolution data, making a real difference in the push to end these deadly diseases.”
The model is being developed for Indonesia, a large country with varied landscapes, diverse ecosystems, and distinct micro-climates — all of which complicate efforts to eliminate malaria and control other vector-borne diseases like dengue. In addition to providing more precise geographic information, the model also seeks to better understand the environmental and atmospheric drivers of disease. For example, by pinpointing exactly where extreme rainfall may lead to spikes in malaria or dengue cases in a province, the model can help local health officials target their interventions with more precision.
The final stage of the project, if successful, will be handing the model over to the Indonesian government. The technology transfer will be made possible by the private Indonesian company KORIKA (Indonesia Collaborative AI Association), which is led by Hammam Riza, a collaborator of the project.
“I really see this project as a partnership,” added Lododa. “Everyone has a critical role to play, and we're very grateful to have such an amazing partner in IMACS and with our in-country collaborators at KORIKA and across the Indonesian government.”
The UMD-led project is supported by a $1,093,841 grant from NASA’s Earth Science Division under its Health and Air Quality program, and is conducted in partnership with IMACS, KORIKA and the Indonesian Ministry of Health.
Image: IMACS logo
Published on Tue, 03/31/2026 - 10:11