Instructors: Julien Arino - University of Manitoba, Marina Freire-Gormaly - York University, Woldegebriel Assefa Woldegerima - York Unviersity, Katie Clow - University of Guelph, and Rebecca Tyson - University of British Columbia 

Course Description: This course introduces students to the mathematical modelling of infectious diseases in One Health. Infectious diseases models are developed to track infection and transmission in animal, plant, and human populations. Particular attention is paid to infections that can be transmitted between humans, animals and the environment. Public health mitigation, as well as animal and environmental pathogen control are discussed, and the models are extended to include vaccination, drug therapies and population contact control strategies in public health and healthcare. Students will learn to formulate, analyze, parameterize, and validate quantitative models for infectious disease processes and data. Applications include SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, avian influenza, bacterial diseases and antibiotic resistance, and fungal pathogens and antifungal resistance. Approaches involve computer simulation, differential equations, individual-based models, least squares, likelihood, matrix equations, Markov processes, and stochastic processes. Computing labs cover simulation and programming methods in specific software programs that are popular in the field of Infectious Disease Modelling. Course discussions in model evaluation and appraisal of current literature include opportunities for reflection and communication. Students will have opportunity to collaborate with their course colleagues on group projects.

Prerequisite: Familiarity with epidemiology and public health. Some training in disease modelling or permission of the instructor.

Class Structure: Classes will include lectures, group discussion and computer labs. Group project presentations will occur in the last week of each section of the course. The course schedule includes both synchronous and nonsynchronous classes. 

Starting week: October 11-14, 2022

Ending Week: Week of January 23-27, 2023

Deadline to apply:  October 17, 2022 

The course outline can be found here. 

Please note that the course instructors are able to offer support in both English and French

Registration: Please register here and you will get the zoom link in the registration confirmation email.

Joint course between: