2010 Red Raider Mini-Symposium: Mathematical Modeling in Population Biology and Epidemiology

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Every year for the past nine years, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Texas Tech University has organized a Red Raider Mini-Symposium. A tradition has been established of showcasing particular areas of current mathematical importance through talks given by distinguished mathematicians and scientists and promising early-career researchers. In 2010, a Red Raider Mini-Symposium entitled Mathematical Modeling in Population Biology and Epidemiology is planned for October 28-30 at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. This is the 10th Annual Red Raider Mini-Symposium organized by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The symposium features seven distinguished speakers and four early career speakers. Many other young investigators, including graduate students, are invited.The theme for this year's symposium is mathematical modeling in population biology and epidemiology. This interdisciplinary area utilizes mathematical techniques from dynamical systems, difference equations, ordinary differential equations, integral equations, and partial differential equations, and applies them to current problems in population biology and epidemiology. The symposium speakers and their research areas emphasize a wide variety of mathematical approaches to several application areas, including emerging diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, HIV, MRSA, the effects of relapse, vaccination, quarantine, and treatment strategies, chaos in structured population models, evolution of phenotypic traits using game theoretic approaches, computation of thresholds for population or disease persistence and extinction, cellular dynamics in tumor and cancer growth, and competitive dynamics in chemostat modeling. During the symposium, current research problems and important open problems are addressed. Additionally, interactions among speakers and attendees lead to new opportunities for collaborations.The event is a medium for interactions and discussions among senior scholars, early career investigators, researchers and students. The symposium presents a high level of mathematical research, provides a stimulus to higher education and promotes interdisciplinary interaction among mathematicians, public health professionals, biologists and other scientists in West Texas and the surrounding region with participants from across the United States, Canada, and Taiwan. The event engages a diverse mixture of undergraduate and graduate students from the mathematical sciences as well as students from other research fields. This symposium provides opportunities for young investigators to learn about current problems in interdisciplinary research in population biology and epidemiology and to meet with leaders in the field.