Please join us for a UW Data Science Seminar featuring UW Global Health Associate Professor Abraham Flaxman on Wednesday, April 30th from 4:30 to 5:20 p.m. PT. This research project was supported by the eScience Data Science and AI Accelerator.
The seminar will be held in Electrical and Computer Engineering Building 125 – Campus Map.
“Updating Open-Source Verbal Autopsy Software to Modern Python Standards”
Abstract: The purpose of this project was to modernize SmartVA-Analyze, an existing open-source verbal autopsy (VA) software, by transitioning its codebase from Python 2 to Python 3. Verbal autopsy is a crucial tool for estimating the causes of death in settings where medical certification is unavailable, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. By collecting data from interviews with the deceased’s relatives or caregivers, VA provides insights into mortality patterns, supporting the formulation of health policies and guiding the allocation of resources. However, with Python 2 now long discontinued, maintaining and deploying the current software was become increasingly challenging, limiting its accessibility and functionality.
The update aimed to ensure compatibility with modern computing environments, enhance the software’s usability, and enable easy installations. By doing so, we maintained the software’s current functionality and also positioned it for future integration with modern AI.
In summary, we succeeded! SmartVA-Analyze 3.0 is now openly available and future extensions will not require an ancient version Python.
Biography: Abraham Flaxman, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. He is currently leading the development of a simulation platform to derive “what-if” results from Global Burden of Disease estimates and is engaged in methodological and operational research on verbal autopsy. Dr. Flaxman has previously designed software tools such as DisMod-MR that IHME uses to estimate the Global Burden of Disease, and the Bednet Stock-and-Flow Model, which has produced estimates of insecticide-treated net coverage in sub-Saharan Africa.
The 2024-2025 seminars will be held in person, and are free and open to the public.