Science Lecture Series: Omar Saucedo

“Spatial Dynamics of Vector-Borne Diseases”

Vector-borne diseases affect approximately 1 billion people and account for 17% of all infectious diseases. With travel becoming more frequent across the globe, it is important to understand the spatial dynamics of vector-borne diseases. Host movement plays a key part on how a disease can be distributed as it enables a pathogen to invade a new environment, and helps the persistence of a disease in locations that would otherwise be isolated. In this talk, we will explore how spatial heterogeneity combines with mobility network structure to influence vector-borne disease dynamics.

Omar Saucedo is a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Ohio State University’s Mathematical Biosciences Institute.