COMAP is excited to team up with Operation Outbreak (OO) at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Meeting in Chicago, September 25–27 to help teachers learn how to run simulations of disease outbreaks and study the related mathematics and science. OO is a multi-institution initiative primarily based at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.  

How It Works

Through the OO free app and anonymous Bluetooth connectivity, people can choose to participate in a simulation of a disease outbreak. The app can simulate different diseases with different characteristics of infectiousness, death rate, and recovery period.

Participants can look for QR codes for masks, vaccines, and tests, to help contain the outbreak. The COMAP/OO Booth 719 in the Convention Center will be the hub for all the activity including giveaway prizes and even more valuable – information and resources on how to incorporate Operation Outbreak Simulations in your class or school.

Collect Operation Outbreak Swag 

Want some cool OO swag? Here’s how to get it:

1. Stop by booth 719 for a free chocolate.
2. Test yourself on outbreak trivia for a free laptop sticker.
3. Follow us on social media for a free pen.
4. Post a picture at our booth and tag us for a free notebook. 
5. Try out our “Operation Outbreak” mobile app during the conference for a free keychain microbe.
6. Send us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and receive a brand new chapter from our textbook Outbreak Science: An Introduction to an Interdisciplinary Field.

Find OO on these social channels:

• Facebook
• Instagram 
• X

Mark Your Calendar

Make sure you plan time on September 25-27 to find us at the McCormick Place Convention Center at Booth 719. Come ready to quiz yourself with fun trivia, math problems, and win prizes along the way.

For more details click here.

More About OO 

In January 2015, amid the West African Ebola outbreak, Dr. Todd Brown, a then-middle school civics educator in Sarasota, FL, emailed Dr. Pardis Sabeti, a faculty at Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to connect and request a Skype session with his classroom students, who were learning about outbreak science governance at the time.  Inspired by the conversations, and with his signature energy, Dr. Brown launched an outbreak science curriculum for his students that culminated in a live-action, sticker-based outbreak simulation. Dr. Sabeti and the Sabeti Lab enthusiastically came on as advisors, and, together, began to map out how to advance the curriculum and simulation experience.

With Dr. Andres Colubri, a then-postdoctoral fellow in the Sabeti Lab, the team took aim at better modeling the spread of pathogens, leveraging the power of Bluetooth to spread a fictional pathogen across smartphones.  In 2017, the first-ever Bluetooth-based outbreak simulation was run, and Operation Outbreak (OO) was born.  Housed at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, OO is now a multi-institution collaborative initiative involving the Sabeti Lab at the Broad Institute (Dr. Sabeti), The Inspire Project (Dr. Brown) and the Colubri Lab of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (Dr. Colubri).