MRC Week 1a: May 30 – June 5, 2021

Dynamics of Infectious Diseases: Ecological Models Across Multiple Scales

Organizers:

Julie Blackwood, Williams College
Lauren Childs, Virginia Tech
Suzanne Lenhart, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Olivia Prosper, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Dynamical models have become a central tool used to investigate a variety of problems related to the ecology of infectious diseases. Most of these models focus on one of two scales: population-level (e.g. compartmental models) or within-host processes (e.g. immune-pathogen interactions). Important questions continue to emerge that may depend on feedbacks between multiple scales. Consequently, there is a need to improve the understanding of local transmission dynamics by linking multiple scales of disease etiology, as well as the consequences of spatial heterogeneity on disease dynamics across geographic regions. This MRC will discuss the state of the ﬁeld and develop methods to address recent and emerging issues related to multiple scales and relevant heterogeneities such as the role of contact heterogeneity in the spread of infectious disease.

The applied questions addressed in this MRC will require knowledge and techniques from such mathematical areas as differential equations, difference equations, dynamical systems, probability, statistics and various natural sciences. Interdisciplinary collaboration will be an essential component of the work, which is related to two of the NSF’s 10 Big Ideas: Growing Convergence of Research and Understanding the Rules of Life.

Applications closed on February 15, 2020, and the admission process is complete.

For questions about the application process, please contact Kim Kuda at the AMS.

Here is a list of individuals who participated in this conference:

Lale Asik
Kyle Dahlin
Christina Edholm
Lindsey Fox
Margaret Grogan
Brandon Hollingsworth
Emily Howerton
Amanda Laubmeier
Benjamin Levy
George Lytle
Denis Patterson
Timothy Pollington
Joan Ponce
Zhuolin Qu
Omar Saucedo
Tingting Tang
Melody Walker
Lihong Zhao