The deadline to enroll in a smartphone flu survey run by UB geographers is coming up.

The survey, which will track the spread of the flu in Western New York, is open for enrollment until Nov.  20. UB staff and faculty are invited to participate, with those who fully complete the survey eligible to receive a minimum $50 gift card to Target, Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, Wegmans or other select retailers.

All members of a household must participate, and a household of three participants can earn up to $200 in gift cards.

To sign up, visit the survey's website.

After completing a one-time initial survey on the survey website, participants will download the Flu Survey app to their smartphone. Every week during the flu season, participants will use the app on their smartphone to answer a few quick questions, including whether they experienced flu symptoms, whether they went to the doctor and what public places they visited (such as the mall or the grocery store). Participants also will be asked to keep their phones’ location services activated, enabling the research team to analyze how people travel and come into contact with one another throughout the region.

Data from the survey will be used to create a computerized model that simulates how infectious diseases spread in mid-sized metropolitan regions like Buffalo Niagara.

The project’s results could provide public health officials with valuable information on which groups of people are most vulnerable during outbreaks, helping to shape the response to future epidemics.