Mathematics and the Life Sciences The close connection between mathematics and the physical sciences during the past century has been of great benefit to both. New mathematics has been inspired by problems in physics, while physics benefited from the theoretical power of mathematics in fundamental ways. The relationship between mathematics and the life sciences has …
How does interspecific host competition alter the amplification and dilution of disease? For pathogens that infect multiple host species, the loss or addition of one host species in a community can affect levels of disease in other host species. Using a 2-host, 1-pathogen epidemiological model, I explore how competition for resources between host species alters …
Wolbachia establishment and invasion in Aedes Aegypti population to suppress Zika transmission Arboviral diseases such as dengue and Zika are diseases that pose a threat to health problems globally. Traditional control methods against mosquito populations that transmit arboviral diseases should be complemented by longer lasting and larger scale methods such as the use of an …
Mathematics as a tool for data integration Recent advances in technology has led to the acquisition of multimodal biological data measuring biological phenomena at various spatiotemporal scales. In this talk, we will discuss how mathematical modeling can be used as a tool for data integration using use cases from respiratory infections, cancer biology, and psychiatry.
Predicting Individual Responses to Hormone Therapy in a Leave-One-Out Study Using Prostate-Specific Antigen Dynamics Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, second only to lung cancer. It is typically treated with androgen deprivation therapy, which depletes the androgen that prostate cancer cells depend on for survival. Intermittent androgen …
The 3rd SCMB Annual Symposium is a free online event that will elevate and amplify the ongoing dialogue at the interface of mathematics and biology. The Symposium will host curated panels to highlight and dissect impactful interdisciplinary work from the math/bio community. Invited talks from all four NSF-Simons MathBioSys Research Centers will share compelling success …
Population-level consequences of the interaction between host stage-structure and disease Multiple life stages are a universal feature of organismal life cycles. Disease impacts life stages differently, and, in some cases, affects only a single stage in a population. Because disease outbreaks are expected to increase worldwide, understanding the population-level consequences of these stage-specific disruptions is …
Minimizing the financial cost of COVID-19 using optimal control The COVID-19 pandemic has already caused hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide. Countries have implemented national lockdowns in an effort to curtail the loss of human life. Consequently, they have had major economic repercussions due to joblessness and other factors. In an attempt to decrease economic …
Asymptomatic transmission in COVID-19 dynamics Asymptomatic transmission has been critical to the spread of COVID-19, making the disease more difficult to control. However, the bulk of prior work assumes that asymptomatic transmission is fixed over time. Here we explore the coupling between asymptomatic incidence (at the level of individuals) with asymptomatic relevance (at the scale …
Visual models: A look at different approaches to understanding the mammalian visual system The mammalian visual system is a large, complex network of neurons composed of a number of spatially separated areas, each of which is highly recurrently connected, coupled together with feedforward and feedback connections. Here, we describe two different approaches that may provide …
