DIMACS Workshop on Facing the Themes Invited participants - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

DIMACS-SACEMA 2006 Aims and Objectives DIMACS Workshop on Facing the Themes Invited participants Challenges of Infectious Diseases in Organizers Africa: The Role of Mathematical Sponsors Summary of Modelling Workshop Future plans Quotes Social Highlights University of the Witwaterstrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Sept. 25-27, 2006

DIMACS-SACEMA Aims and Objectives 2006 � To bring together scientists from the US and various Aims and African countries, as well as junior researchers and Objectives students from the US and Africa, to share ideas on Themes effective ways to combat the spread of emerging and Invited participants re-emerging diseases that inflict severe public health Organizers and socio-economic burden in Africa: Sponsors ◮ HIV, TB, malaria, HIV co-infection, animal diseases Summary of Workshop � To discuss recent progress and challenges Future plans associated with disease transmission (and burden) in Quotes Africa: public health policies; data issues (collection Social Highlights and sharing); � To foster partnerships, collaborations and capacity building; ◮ collaborations between researchers ◮ training of students and junior scientists (and networking/collaborations); ◮ encourage greater participation of Africa-based public health officials and clinicians in mathematical epidemiology

DIMACS-SACEMA Themes 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes ♦ Current state of infectious diseases in Africa and Invited participants special challenges for mathematical modelling Organizers Sponsors ♦ Mathematical modelling of diseases that inflict a Summary of Workshop significant burden on Africa Future plans Quotes ♦ Modelling issues arising from the threat of emerging Social Highlights diseases in resource-poor countries ♦ Optimization of scarce public health resources ♦ Vaccination strategies

DIMACS-SACEMA Invited Participants 2006 Aims and 60 participants from Africa, US AND Canada Objectives Themes (i) Mathematical Biologists: Invited participants ◮ Leading experts; Organizers ◮ Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (from Sponsors Africa and the US; AIMS, HBCUs)); Summary of Workshop ◮ “New-comers” to the field; Future plans (ii) Medical/Clinical Scientists: Quotes ◮ Public health officials; Social Highlights ◮ Vaccine manufacturers; ◮ MDs (iii) Other Mathematical Scientists ♦ Diversity and geographic spread of participants and research topics covered.

DIMACS-SACEMA Organizing Committee 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Dominic Clemence (NC A & T State University) Invited participants Organizers Program Committee Wayne Getz (UC Berkeley) Advisory Committee Local Committee HBCU Committee Sponsors Abba Gumel (Manitoba) Summary of Workshop Future plans John Hargrove (SACEMA) Quotes Social Highlights Ewdard Lungu (Botswana) Fred Roberts (DIMACS; Chair)

DIMACS-SACEMA Program Committee 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Wayne Getz (UC Berkeley) Invited participants Organizers Program Committee Abba Gumel (Manitoba; Chair) Advisory Committee Local Committee HBCU Committee Sponsors John Hargrove (SACEMA) Summary of Workshop Future plans Brenda Latka (DIMACS) Quotes Social Highlights Fred Roberts (DIMACS) Brian Williams (WHO)

DIMACS-SACEMA Advisory Committee 2006 Aims and Ronald Brookmeyer (John Hopkins University) Objectives Themes Donald Burke (Johns Hopkins University) Invited participants Organizers Carlos Castillo-Chavez (Arizona State University) Program Committee Advisory Committee Local Committee Peter Ekkehard Kopp (University of Hull) HBCU Committee Sponsors John Glasser (CDC Atlanta) Summary of Workshop Fritz Hahne (AIMS) Future plans Quotes Simon Levin (Princeton University) Social Highlights Ramanan Laxminarayan (Resources for the Future) Martin Meltzer (CDC Atlanta) Wandera Ogana (University of Nairobi)

DIMACS-SACEMA Local Organizing Committee 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Invited participants Edward Lungu (University of Botswana) Organizers Program Committee Advisory Committee David Sherwell (University of the Witswatersrand) Local Committee HBCU Committee Sponsors Summary of Alex Welte (University of the Witswatersrand; Chair) Workshop Future plans Quotes Social Highlights � Special thanks to Brenda Lacey-Smith (WITS); Christine Spassione (DIMACS) and many others at WITS and DIMACS

DIMACS-SACEMA HBCU Student Selection Committee 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Invited participants Organizers Dominic Clemence (NC A & T State University) Program Committee Advisory Committee Local Committee HBCU Committee Sponsors Ronald Mickens (Clark Atlanta University) Summary of Workshop Future plans Quotes Asamoah Nkwanta (Morgan State University) Social Highlights Abdul-Aziz Yakubu (Howard University)

DIMACS-SACEMA Sponsors 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Invited participants (i) African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Organizers (ii) Burroughs Wellcome Fund Sponsors (iii) DIMACS Summary of Workshop (iv) US National Science Foundation Future plans (v) South African Centre for Epidemiological Moddelling Quotes and Analysis (SACEMA) Social Highlights (vi) School of Computational and Applied Mathematics, WITS University (vii) WITS AIDS Research Initiative

DIMACS-SACEMA Summary of Workshop 2006 � 24 research talks; focus on a number of issues Aims and including Objectives ◮ overview of current state of disease dynamics in Themes Africa Invited participants ◮ modeling: analysis, data acquisition and challenges Organizers ◮ model types: deterministic; discrete; stochastic; Sponsors simulations; random walk; (in-host, population-level) Summary of ◮ evaluation of control strategies: ARVs, vaccines, Workshop Summary ctd. quarantine, isolation Disease modeling: Biological issues ◮ modeling animal diseases: Bovine TB; zoonotic Public health mycobacteria Future plans ◮ modeling in fluctuating populations Quotes ◮ predictive power of (in wildlife populations) Social Highlights ◮ economic epidemiology ◮ strategies for combatting new emerging diseases (e.g., pandemic flu) ◮ optimization of public health resources ◮ social infrastructure against disease-related workforce depletion ◮ role(s) of discrete mathematics in epidemiology

DIMACS-SACEMA Summary Ctd. 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Invited participants � numerous diseases addressed including: Organizers ◮ Bovine TB; cervical cancer; Dengue hemorrhagic Sponsors fever; HIV/AIDS and co-infection; HPV; HSV2; Lyme Summary of disease; Malaria; Pandemic influenza; Pertussis; Workshop Summary ctd. Rotavirus; SARS; TB; Zoonotic mycobacteria Disease modeling: Biological issues Public health Future plans � discussion groups (and presentation) Quotes Social Highlights � 26 posters!

DIMACS-SACEMA New trends in disease modeling: 2006 ◮ increasing diversity of modeling techniques: Aims and Objectives ◮ network models (scale free, small world) Themes ◮ meta population Invited participants ◮ agent based model (individual modeling) Organizers ◮ branching processes Sponsors ◮ random walks Summary of Workshop ◮ data related issues: Summary ctd. Disease modeling: ◮ acquisition of quality data Biological issues Public health ◮ parameter estimation Future plans ◮ sensitivity and uncertainty analysis Quotes ◮ modeling emerging, endemic and re-emerging Social Highlights diseases ◮ increasing number of new intervention strategies: ◮ expansion of the concept of R 0 to incorporate heterogeneity

DIMACS-SACEMA New trends in biological issues: 2006 Aims and Objectives Themes Invited participants Organizers ◮ evolutionary dimension (selection for mutations that Sponsors confer resistance to infection) Summary of Workshop Summary ctd. Disease modeling: Biological issues Public health ◮ use of ARVs and vaccines: targeted allocation; Future plans vaccine properties (therapeutic benefits) Quotes ◮ emergence and evolution (plus consequence) of Social Highlights ARV-resistant strains ◮ challenges for designing effective HIV vaccine (for multiple clades)

DIMACS-SACEMA Public health issues 2006 Aims and Objectives ◮ local vs. global actions (polio eradication example) Themes Invited participants ◮ design of models that address actual public health Organizers Sponsors questions Summary of Workshop Summary ctd. ◮ lack of compliance to treatment and vaccination (fear Disease modeling: Biological issues of side-effects): impact on effective disease control Public health Future plans ◮ foster greater (effective) 2-way interactions between Quotes Social Highlights modellers and public health professionals ◮ effective communication of modelling ideas and results to the general public

DIMACS-SACEMA Future Plans 2006 � Student shortcourse+Conference: AIMS, 2007 Aims and Objectives � Meetings in other African countries Themes Invited participants � Workshop proceedings? Edited volume? Organizers Sponsors � Conduct shortcourses for public health practitioners Summary of (and “traditional healers”?) (Imperial College & Workshop Canadian models?) Future plans Quotes � Research training for undergraduates (Summer Social Highlights Schools) � Foster greater partnerships and collaborations (Africa vs. North America) � External supervision of graduate students? � Funds, funds and more funds. Is there a Bill Gates in the house-:))))???