New methods for integrating population structure and stochasticity into models of disease dynamics. Epidemics, such as the 2007 equine 'flu outbreak and 2009 swine 'flu pandemic, highlight the need to make informed decisive responses. This project will develop new methods that incorporate two important aspects of disease dynamics---host structure and chance---into mathematical models, and determine their impact in terms of controlling infections.
Multiscale models in immuno-epidemiology. The spread of a pathogen (for example, a virus or bacteria) through a population is a multi-scale phenomena, influenced by factors acting at both the population and within-host scales. At the population scale, transmission is influenced by how infectious an infected host is. Infectiousness in turn depends on the balance between pathogen replication within the host and immune/drug control mechanisms. This project aims to develop new mathematical framework ....Multiscale models in immuno-epidemiology. The spread of a pathogen (for example, a virus or bacteria) through a population is a multi-scale phenomena, influenced by factors acting at both the population and within-host scales. At the population scale, transmission is influenced by how infectious an infected host is. Infectiousness in turn depends on the balance between pathogen replication within the host and immune/drug control mechanisms. This project aims to develop new mathematical frameworks for simultaneously modelling these two scales. This will provide a platform for the rigorous study of complex biological interactions - such as the emergence and combat of drug-resistance - that shape society's ability to control infectious diseases in human, animal and plant systems.Read moreRead less