Issue:
Transboundary pest and disease threats (TPDT’s) represent omnipresent threats to U.S. commercial crop and animal production. While many data and information resources are available to contribute to building a complete assessment of the ongoing TPDT risks faced by U.S. agriculture, work is needed to assemble, validate and utilize these resources to improve decisions about how best to identify high-risk shipments before they cross the border. The project team will develop, document, and validate a proof-of-concept artificial intelligence tool that systematically improves the risk forecasting decisions needed to improve interdiction efforts that safeguard U.S. borders against the natural, accidental, or intentional entry and spread of TPDTs arriving in passenger luggage, commercial imports and mail shipments.
Objectives:
- To mitigate the risks of TPDT’s by developing data integration and forecasting methods that improve decisions about the presence of possible TPDT’s before they reach our ports of entry
- Develop and use artificial intelligence algorithms that learn, adapt, and evolve to improve decisions to aimed at detecting suspect imports and, therefore, preventing the introduction of TPDT’s in the U.S.
Value Proposition:
The financial and administrative costs associated with shifting interdiction staff and resources to respond to TPDT concerns are substantial. This project will identify and apply appropriate data resources and validated data mining algorithms, to more effectively assess and prioritize TPDT risks in the movement of goods and people and reduce unnecessary operational costs in the process. Once developed and tested, the team will work with CBP staff to identify training and transition requirements that aid implementation and adoption.
| Project Lead | Orion Integrated Biosciences |
| Research Team | PI: Willy A. Valdivia, Ph.D., Orion Integrated Biosciences Inc. Co-PI Anderson de Queiroz Ph.D., North Carolina Central University Co-PI: Gaolin Milledge North Carolina Central University Co-PI: Royston Carter Orion Integrated Biosciences Inc. |
| Budget | $500,000 |
| Duration | Sept. 2021 – Aug. 2023 |