Software designed to help eradicate disease and improve health
The Institute for Disease Modeling builds open-source software that helps researchers, policymakers, and global health partners answer questions that real-world experiments can’t: where an outbreak is likely to spread, which interventions will save the most lives, and how to allocate limited resources for the greatest impact. Developed in close collaboration with research partners around the world, our tools turn complex epidemiological data into clear, quantitative insight. All IDM software is free, open-source, and designed to accelerate progress toward disease eradication and improvements in health.
Starsim
The Starsim framework is used for examining the spread of infectious disease in situations when the details of how an individual’s immune system, and heterogeneity across immune systems, changes the answer to a particular research question. Use Starsim models when within-host biology, co-infection, or fine-grained intervention effects matter.
Best suited for: HIV, TB, STIs, HPV, Family Planning, and other questions where individual-level details shape population dynamics.
LASER
The LASER (Light Agent Spatial modeling for ERadication) framework is especially suited for modeling disease transmission where spatial connectivity and heterogeneity matters. Geographic location, human movement patterns, and the specifics of disease transmission dynamics are combined to answer questions about locations and populations most at risk.
Best suited for: spatial spread, meta-population models, and large-population campaigns such as polio eradication or evaluation of vaccination campaigns.
EMOD
EMOD (Epidemiological MODeling software) is IDM’s longest-running modeling framework, designed for diseases where both individual traits or behaviors and regional context are important for transmission. It is especially well-developed for malaria, with detailed components for mosquito life cycles, climate, and malaria-specific interventions.
Best suited for: malaria eradication strategy evaluations, vector control, and regional campaign planning.
Documentation Hub
Looking for software documentation for non-framework models? The IDM Docs Hub contains links to additional software packages, dashboards, and other non-framework modeling tools.
