A dangerous killer preyed on dozens of people in a small village in the West African country of Guinea for three months before health officials identified it as the deadly Ebola virus. By that time, in early 2014, the virus was firmly entrenched. Ebola would later become a global health emergency.

Now, more than a year into yet another Ebola outbreak, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a new University of Washington collaborative is making it easier for countries to see how vulnerable they are to infectious disease threats – and where – and what they can do to save lives.

To help brace for the next epidemic, eight UW centers – collectively called the UW MetaCenter for Pandemic Preparedness and Global Health Security – are harnessing big data and forward-thinking strategies to devise more unified approaches to current and future health security risks, and preparing health systems to take a stand.

Read the entire story, which is part of the school's new magazine, at UW School of Public Health. Subscribe to the magazine here.