Shishi Luo, Graduate Student

Shishi Luo

I use tools from stochastic processes, probability theory, and differential equations to make sense of complex biological systems. Much of my dissertation research addresses questions arising from the ecology and evolution of infectious pathogens.

Office Location:  017 Physics
Office Phone:  (919)660-2870
Email Address: send me a message
Web Page:  http://www.math.duke.edu/~szl
  
Starting Year:   2007  
Advisor(s):   Michael C. Reed

Education:

BSUniversity of Queensland2006
MS2009
BCommerceUniversity of Queensland2006
Specialties:

Applied Math
Probability
Research Interests: Modeling the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases

In my research, I apply mathematics to questions arising from the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. Systems in this field display nonlinear population dynamics, exhibit important behavior at multiple levels (intrahost and interhost), and are adaptive, that is, they undergo evolution. These properties are common across complex biological systems, and developing tools to tackle them will not only advance our understanding of infectious disease, but may also apply to structurally similar systems in other areas of biology. I approach these problems by seeking the most natural and insightful formulation. This principle, which underlies most of pure mathematics, is also powerful in elucidating fundamental properties of real biological systems. This means that rather than use a particular set of established tools, e.g. diff erential equations or stochastic processes, individual-based models or mean- field models, numerical solutions or stochastic simulations, I draw on my broad training in applied mathematics to formulate the most appropriate and informative model for addressing a speci c biological question.

Keywords:

Mathematical biology • Infectious diseases • Modeling