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2012 - 11th Annual NC State Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium
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Session Time :
8/1/12 3:00 PM - 8/1/12 4:14 PM
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Content Area : Research Experience for Undergraduate Mathematics: Modeling and Industrial Applied Mathematics
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Lead Student Presenters : John Andrew Lombardi
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Co-Presenters :
Sean Plummer
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Abstract Title : Stochastic Modeling of Wolbachia Infected Mosquitoes
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Abstract :
Dengue fever, caused by a mosquito-borne virus, affects millions of humans each year, and there are numerous public health costs and concerns associated with the spread of the disease. Currently, there are no prophylactic drug treatments or vaccinations available to guard against infection, so control of the disease relies primarily on controlling the principal mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti. One proposed vector control strategy is to introduce mosquitoes infected with the bacterium Wolbachia into a native mosquito population. Mathematical modeling of mosquito population dynamics, dengue epidemiology, and Wolbachia dynamics can help assess the feasibility of Wolbachia-based vector control methods for controlling dengue fever. We developed a stochastic model to study the spread of Wolbachia in a mosquito population and used numerical simulations and analytic approaches, when possible, to quantify whether introducing Wolbachia into a native population is a viable and effective strategy.
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Mentor and/or Co-Author : Alun Lewis Lloyd
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