Toward Systems Biology
May 30 - 31, June 1, 2011
Grenoble
Multiscale Modeling of Influenza Virus Infection and Containment
Influenza A infection is a major human disease causing 36,000 death annually in the United-States alone. Last year, a recombinant H1N1 strain emerged and for several months, there were fear that this might be the "big" one. Modelers across the world were called upon to draw projections of projected disease burden, which turned out to be more dire than the actual pandemic. Yet, resources were stretched and the new strain wreaked much havoc. Models on Influenza A virus will be presented from intra-host models to population level models. The necessicity of a multiscalar approach will be argued and an initial implementation described. Preliminary insights from this implementation with be described. Open problems in modeling of Influenza A genomic evolution will also be discussed, as they relate to physiotypic evolution.
Gilles Clermont, University of Pittsburgh