Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has established the Center for Computational and Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS), which aims to foster connection and bridge the fields of data science, social science and population health.

The center, a part of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (I.AIM), will serve as a hub for promoting connections that will increase the capacity of cutting-edge research that uses social and behavioral science and computational methodology to understand and enable the health of populations.

“Utilizing large and complex datasets or advanced modeling approaches to understand the health of populations requires transdisciplinary collaboration that unites social scientists and health researchers with in-depth knowledge of the populations and the systems under investigation, and investigators who are at the forefront of innovative data collection and analytic techniques. This kind of collaboration does not come easily, however. It requires time in the same spaces, it requires the building of trust, the development of shared language, and the slow uncovering and integration of each other’s perspectives and priorities,” said Michelle Birkett, PhD, associate professor of Medical Social Sciences in the Division of Determinants of Health and of Preventive Medicine, who will serve as director of COMPASS.

Patrick Janulis, PhD, associate professor of Medical Social Sciences in the Division of Outcome and Measurement Science and of Medical Social Sciences in the Division of Determinants of Health, will serve as associate director of the center.

COMPASS grew from the CONNECT Complex Systems and Health Disparities Research Program based within the Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH). The new center will extend its work through its three interrelated priorities: building transdisciplinary collaborations, training the next generation of population health scholars, and conducting cutting-edge research on the social and structural drivers of population health. 

“Across each of the three areas our center hopes to connect – data science, social science and population health – Northwestern holds immense expertise. Faculty are simply leading groundbreaking work around every corner. However, it can be challenging to build collaborations across departments, schools, or campuses. In an institution as large as ours, and one spread across numerous campuses, it can be hard to find each other and rare to spend time in the same spaces. Therefore, I am most looking forward to facilitating new and creative collaborations,” Birkett said.

The center also aims to connect and collaborate with multiple research institutes across Northwestern, including I.AIM, ISGMH, the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM), and others.

“The COMPASS team are boundary spanners and connectors, not just through their innovative technology but because they have the patience and persistence to understand and address the needs of all the partners in their projects. I am thrilled to welcome Drs. Birkett and Janulis and the COMPASS team to I.AIM,” said Abel Kho, MD, director of I.AIM and a professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Health and Biomedical Informatics. Information about the center can be found at the COMPASS website and Northwestern faculty or trainees can apply to become a member through the Center’s membership application.