Speaker
Description
Background
Agent-based models (ABMs) allow detailed simulation of people and their interactions. However, ABMs often run slowly and are complicated to configure, which has limited their use. Starting with Covasim (for COVID-19), we developed several ABMs designed to make modeling more accessible for people with diverse backgrounds and skill sets. Recently, we codified the principles of these models into an ABM framework called "Starsim" (starsim.org), which aims to facilitate the rapid development of models that can answer real-world policy questions.
Methods
The Starsim modeling framework contains modules that can be used to implement different communicable and non-communicable diseases, plus other health areas. Its features include: co-transmission of diseases (including their natural history, transmission, and effects of co-infection), dynamic transmission networks (including sexual, respiratory, and maternal transmission), vital dynamics (including births and deaths), and interventions (including testing, treatment, and vaccines). It is suitable for answering a wide range of modeling questions, from small outbreaks to multi-decade epidemics. Most simulations can be run in seconds to minutes on a standard laptop. It is free to use, open source (in both Python and R), and extensively documented. A specially trained AI agent is also available to help build Starsim models.
Implications
Since 2020, over 200 people have attended trainings on the Starsim suite of ABMs, including workshops in India, Vietnam, Kenya, Uganda, and the US. The Starsim approach is simple enough that most users can quickly learn it, yet flexible enough to model users' requested policy scenarios. Starsim can be rapidly adapted to new contexts thanks to its modular structure, optimized computations, and pre-loading of commonly used data. Starsim shifts the emphasis from “models as finished products” to the development process itself. Already, collaborators from a dozen institutions have produced more than 30 models using Starsim, covering areas as diverse as HIV, typhoid, tuberculosis, rift valley fever, family planning, and epidemic decision-making. We believe Starsim's community-driven approach to software development has the potential to strengthen capacity and improve access to fit-for-purpose modeling tools, and thus contribute to better model-informed decisions.
