The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) was selected to receive funding from Google.org, based on the institution’s funds for the support to innovative ideas to fight Covid-19 using artificial intelligence and data science. The project of the Center of Data Integration and Knowledge for Health (Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia), with the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), was one of th two projects selected by Google in Brazil. Overall, 31 research lines will be helped by the fund.

With a team of specialists of different areas, researchers Marcos Ennes Barreto (UFBA) and Mauricio Lima Barreto (Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia) will receive US$ 76,600 from Google.org to develop a cloud-based platform to support research and decision making regarding Covid-19 in Brazil. The project will also be receiving Google Cloud credits, for an overall value of US$ 189,200.

The platform will provide tools for the integration and managing of data in large scale, a set of IA models for prediction and to support decision making. It will also have an ensemble of interactive bibliometry services to summarize evidences and correlations within the growing literature on this new disease. The project will be part of the CoVida Network, a cooperation network involving professionals of various Brazilian institutions.

“We are very happy with this support of Google.org, as it will allow us to expand the activities of the CoVida Network, especially when it comes to using Google tools and AI models to manage different sources of data and to carry out investigative studies that focus on complex scenarios related to the pandemic in Brazil”, states Marcos Ennes Barreto, one of the project’s main researchers.

An arm of Google to support non-profit organizations dedicated to innovated solutions in data science to olve great global challenges, the Google.org initiative has selected projects to receive funding by means of a competitive process based on merit. “It’s remarkable to see leaders of different sectors and areas of specialization coming together during this critical moment of human history”, says Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, Product Impact Director of Google.org.