Gautam Menon (IMSc):  Contagion:  Modelling Infectious Diseases
Monday 29th June 345--500pm   Chair: Krishna Maddaly

Mathematical models play a crucial role in understanding how infectious diseases, such as
Ebola, flu, measles, tuberculosis and AIDS, spread within a population.   They also help decide
the strategies that public health officials and governments must use in response to outbreaks.
I will motivate the general study of models of infectious diseases from a historical perspective,
describe some of these models very simply and then explain how they have been used and continue to be used
in real-life situations.   Studies of such models lie at the interface of applied mathematics,
data science, bio-statistics and public policy, providing an interesting example of how, in some cases,
improved mathematical methods can really make the difference between life and death.