Title: Mathematics and Epidemics with applications to SARS, Influenza and other diseases
Abstract: Mathematics and epidemics have a long and distinguished history of successes that go back to Daniel Bernoulli (1700 – 1782); Nobel Laureate and physician Sir Ronald Ross (1911) and associates created the field of mathematical epidemiology in response to their efforts to combat specific communicable and vector born diseases. The last four decades have seen tremendous theoretical advances often driven by concerns on the impact of emergent or re-emergent diseases over multiple time scales and levels of organization. In this lecture, I will revisit some of this history, address applications of the theory to slow and fast disease (such as tuberculosis and Influenza), highlight the theory of single versus recurrent outbreaks, and highlight recent advances, often in response to homeland security concerns.