NIMBioS Seminar Series

In conjunction with the interdisciplinary activities of the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), a seminar series on topics in mathematical biology will be hosted at NIMBioS every other Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) in the Hallam Auditorium, Room 206, Claxton Building, 1122 Volunteer Blvd. Seminar speakers will focus on their research initiatives at the interface of mathematics and many areas of the life sciences. Light refreshments will be served in the 1st floor visitor breakroom beginning 30 minutes before each talk. Faculty and students from across the UT community are welcome to join us.

Time/Date: Thursday, February 21, 2013, 3:30 p.m.*
Location: Room 206, Claxton Building, 1122 Volunteer Blvd.
Speaker: Dr. Kamuela (Wela) E. Yong, Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Mathematical, Computational & Modeling Sciences Center, Arizona State Univ.
Topic: Estimating biting rates of triatomine on preferred sylvatic hosts in overlapping vector-host cycles
Abstract: The parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, spread by triatomine vectors, affects more than 100 mammalian species throughout the Americas, including humans, in whom it causes Chagas' disease. In the U.S., only a few cases have been documented of human infection by vectors, but prevalence is high in sylvatic hosts (primarily raccoons in the southeast and woodrats in Texas). The sylvatic transmission of T. cruzi is spread by the vector species Triatoma sanguisuga and Triatoma gerstaeckeri biting their preferred hosts and thus creating multiple interacting vector-hosts cycles. The goal of this study is to quantify the number of contacts between different host and vector species in Texas from an agent-based model framework. The contact rates, which represent bites, are required to estimate transmission coefficients, which can be applied to models of infection dynamics.

*Join us for refreshments at 3 p.m. in the 1st floor visitor breakroom.

Seminar Flyer (pdf)

Watch seminar online.

For more information about this and other NIMBioS Seminars, visit /seminars.

NIMBioS
1122 Volunteer Blvd., Suite 106
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996-3410
PH: (865) 974-9334
FAX: (865) 974-9461
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From 2008 until early 2021, NIMBioS was supported by the National Science Foundation through NSF Award #DBI-1300426, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.