Research Experiences for Undergraduates

In 2014–2019 UNCG hosted an extremely successful math-bio REU program funded by an NSF grant and led by Dr. Jan Rychtář.

2016

In 2016 I participated in the program as a mentor on a voluntary basis. I and Jan Rychtář supervised a group of three students which worked on game-theoretic modeling of infectious diseases. We concentrated on optimal vaccination strategies and clean water usage to combat cholera. This project resulted in one student conference presentation and a paper published in Bulletin of Mathematical Biology.

I also helped Dr. Jonathan Rowell supervise a group of two students who worked on game-theoretic modeling of cancer dynamics. This project resulted in a paper published in Games.

2017

In 2017 I supervised two groups of three students each. One group worked on optimal vaccination strategies to eradicate Ebola, while another group worked on optimal vaccination strategies to reduce endemic levels of meningitis in Africa. The Ebola project resulted in three student conference presentations and a paper published in Royal Society Open Science. The meningitis project resulted in three student conference presentations and a paper submitted for publication.

I also supervised (jointly with Dr. Hyunju Oh) a group of two students, who worked on optimal vaccination strategies for typhoid fever. This project resulted in a paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

2018

In 2018 I supervised (jointly with Dr. Jonathan Rowell) a group of three students. The students investigated voluntary and mandatory protection strategies against chikungunya virus on Reunion Island. This project resulted in six student conference presentations and a paper published in PeerJ.