University of Wollongong 2023 Data Science & Statistics Lecture: Professor Antonietta Mira

The School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics (SMAS) at the University of Wollongong is hosting the 2023 Data Science and Statistics (DSS) Lecture

Lecturer: Antonietta Mira 

• Professor of Statistics and Director of the Data Science Lab, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland
• Professor of Statistics, Insubria University, Como, Italy

Title: Data science for public health: Risk mapping of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest and the optimal deployment of defibrillators

(Further details about this and past DSS Lectures can be found at https://uow.info/smas-ssl)

Date: Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Time: 11:30am in-person-only lecture, with refreshments to follow
Venue: Building 6, Room 210, University of Wollongong

Abstract: Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) is a major public-health problem that affects approximately 1:1000 people in developed countries. This lecture describes my collaborative peer-reviewed research with cardiologists in Switzerland since 2018, to map and forecast OHCA risk, and to use this to optimise Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) deployment in Canton Ticino, Switzerland. Flexible location models were found to increase overall OHCA coverage and decrease the distance to nearby AEDs, so saving lives and at the same time reducing public-health expenditure. For every minute lost in response time, the AED success rate decreases by 7-10%. Geospatial models of OHCA and AED accessibility with uncertainty quantified, were used to identify communities with the greatest gap between demand and supply for allocating AEDs, which were then used to evaluate models for precise AED-location deployment. These were further used to evaluate strategies for deployment of Lay First Responders (LFRs) in relation to the OHCA and AED locations. A Bayesian spatio-temporal model with a dynamic temporal component was used to predict future OHCAs. Model-based risk maps adjusted for demographic covariates were used to explain and forecast the spatial distribution of OHCAs in Canton Ticino. The lecture will conclude with new work on using neural networks in the Bayesian spatio-temporal model, which allows current and future detection of high-risk areas of OHCA with uncertainty quantified.

The lecture and refreshments that follow are open to all. For space availability and catering purposes, please click here to register

Antonietta has a strong commitment to STEM in Switzerland and Italy. She has won awards for excellence in both research and teaching. She has been involved in public engagement (such as EXPO Milano 2015) and has delivered public lectures (such as Festival of the Swiss Academy of Sciences 200 Year Anniversary). She is often interviewed in the media on topics related to Data Science and Big Data, and she has created an exhibit, Numbed by Numbers!, which is a 3D tour between Digits (maths), Dice (probability), and Data (stats), aimed at children aged from 6 – 18. Antonietta is also winner of the 2022 G. Dosi national prize for popularising science for STEM students, with publication of her book, The Data Pandemic. Here is the Vaccine (2020, Mondadori). In her free time, she is a practicing magician with a special interest in mathematical magic, which is presented in her book, Matemagica (2012, Aboca).