Nov 23, 2025

HGT-BioGuard: A Global Heterogeneous Graph Transformer for Early-Warning Biosurveillance

tanzeel shaikh, hardik patel, hitesh kaushik

HGT-BioGuard represents a paradigm shift in pandemic preparedness through an AI-driven biosurveillance system that fuses heterogeneous global data streams—international flight patterns and SARS-CoV-2 genomic mutations—into a unified Heterogeneous Graph Transformer (HGT) model. By modeling complex relationships between airports, viral lineages, and their spatiotemporal evolution, BioGraph enables real-time prediction of emerging COVID-19 hotspots and probabilistic origin tracing of novel variants.

Our system demonstrates that cross-domain data integration at scale provides the critical early warning capability that was missing during the COVID-19 pandemic. HGT-BioGuard doesn't just detect outbreaks; it anticipates them, buying public health officials the single most valuable resource in pandemic response: time. The model's heterogeneous architecture naturally accommodates multi-scale data—from local variant detection to global mobility patterns—creating a dynamic threat assessment framework that adapts as the virus evolves.

Built on open datasets including OpenSky Network flight data and GISAID/Nextstrain genomic sequences, BioGraph showcases how defensive AI technology can transform reactive public health response into proactive biological defense. This isn't just another surveillance tool—it's a concrete implementation of how integrated data systems can create meaningful early warning capabilities against emerging biological threats.

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Cite this work

@misc {

title={

(HckPrj) HGT-BioGuard: A Global Heterogeneous Graph Transformer for Early-Warning Biosurveillance

},

author={

tanzeel shaikh, hardik patel, hitesh kaushik

},

date={

11/23/25

},

organization={Apart Research},

note={Research submission to the research sprint hosted by Apart.},

howpublished={https://apartresearch.com}

}

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This work was done during one weekend by research workshop participants and does not represent the work of Apart Research.
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