Nextstrain.org, a website that enables researchers visualize and track virus evolution in real time, has won Open Science Prize. Nextstrain.org’s model integrates shared and open data from various global research teams to facilitate pathogen surveillance and epidemiological investigations, PLOS reports.

Currently, Nextstrain.org is tracking the evolution of Ebola, Zika, Avian Influenza and Influenza viruses. Its data set comes from data that scientists deposited in Genbank or posted to lab websites or GitHub.

The main goal of the website is to improve epidemiological understanding and improve outbreak response.

According to PLOS, Trevor Bedford, the leader of the team that won the prize says that sharing data publicly and quickly may have a potential for real world impact.

Open Science Prize is an initiative of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Wellcome Trust. Those organizations fund research and advocate for open access to scientific publications. Moreover, they provide financial support for authors to encourage them publish their research output on open access platforms. See sources