Infectious disease modeling

The Yitbarek lab develops ecological and evolutionary models to understand how diseases spread and persist in a population. Our lab also uses insect-microbial systems to test theory in the lab and field setting. A long-standing interest in the lab is how spatial structure of host populations impacts pathogen evolution. The student will be involved in the building of epidemiological models that incorporate ecological and evolutionary feedbacks to understand how pathogen interactions, from mutualistic to parasitic, alter evolutionary trajectories. Seeking interested undergraduate students interested in applying quantitative approaches, including differential equations and computer simulations, to understand infectious disease dynamics.