The Spread and Evolution of Parasites on Host Networks

接触网络流行病学是研究传染病生态学的一种新的、强有力的数学方法。它包括建立构成疾病传播基础的复杂宿主接触模式的现实模型，然后应用统计物理学的方法预测疫情动态。该项目将扩展这些方法，以研究通过模块化宿主种群--由高度内部联系的亚群组成的宿主种群--的疾病传播，然后解决关于塞伦盖蒂食肉动物种群中病毒疾病的具体问题。该项目还将通过参与传染病生态学和进化的研究、新课程和网络分发教材的开发，对从幼儿园到研究生院的学生进行培训。随着数学生物学领域对科学进步变得越来越重要，人们需要新一代计算工具和能够有效使用它们的研究人员。该项目将产生一个更通用的预测疾病传播的数学框架，并更好地了解多宿主疾病传播，这是一个对人类、家畜和受保护关注的野生动物种群的健康非常重要的主题。它将为来自不同背景的青年男女提供体验数学生物学的实用性、可及性和激动人心的机会。

Contact network epidemiology is a new and powerful mathematical approach to study the ecology of infectious diseases. It involves building realistic models of the complex host contact patterns that underlie disease transmission, and then applying methods from statistical physics to predict outbreak dynamics. This project will extend these methods to study disease spread through modular host populations - those consisting of highly intra-connected subgroups - and then address specific questions about viral diseases in Serengeti carnivore populations. This project will also train students from kindergarten through graduate school through participation in the research, new courses, and the development of web-distributed teaching materials on infectious disease ecology and evolution. As the field of mathematical biology becomes increasingly critical to scientific progress, there is demand for a new generation of computational tools and researchers who can use them effectively. This project will yield a more versatile mathematical framework for predicting disease spread and a better understanding of multi-host disease transmission, a topic of great importance to the health of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife populations of conservation concern. It will provide young men and women from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to experience the utility, accessibility and excitement of mathematical biology.