Mathematical reasoning as tool to get insight into infection dynamics

Friday seminar by Hans Heesterbeek

Abstract

I plan to give an overview, based on examples, of the work I have been doing in the last five years, as a starting point for a discussion on possible collaboration. Basically this means I will be giving examples of the use of mathematical reasoning as a tool to obtain insight into the population dynamics and ecology of infectious diseases. Examples will be taken from infections of humans, farmed animals and wildlife and will range from within-host dynamics (interaction of parasite and immune system in malaria) to metapopulation dynamics (persistence of infections in spatially structured populations). I will also pay attention to a particular interest: the relation between structure and stability in foodwebs and ecosystems, for which I aim to investigate the place and role of pathogens and parasites in the near future.

Hans Heesterbeek
Theoretical Epidemiology
University of Utrecht
Yalelaan 7
3584 CL Utrecht
The Netherlands

Published Feb. 3, 2012 3:50 PM