About the Project
Are you passionate about global health, infectious disease modelling, and the interdependence between human, animal and environmental health? This interdisciplinary PhD project offers an exciting opportunity to explore how influenza A viruses (IAVs) spillover from pigs to humans – an important frontier in One Health and pandemic preparedness.

Project Overview
Pigs are known “mixing vessels” for swine, avian, and human influenza viruses. In regions where farming systems are rapidly changing and surveillance is limited, understanding patterns of IAV transmission between pigs and people, and factors influencing these risks, is essential. This project investigates the dynamics of zoonotic transmission at the swine-human interface, focusing on occupational exposure in diverse farming contexts.

Building on existing model frameworks and datasets, you’ll develop a novel, agent-based model that simulates IAV transmission within pig populations and spillover into humans. By integrating epidemiological, environmental, and social data, including contact patterns and serological evidence, you’ll quantify and compare spillover risks across different production systems (e.g. smallholder farms vs commercial operations) and stages (breeding, fattening, slaughter). Through simulations, you’ll explore how these risks might be influenced by changing livestock systems and targeted interventions.

There will be opportunities to tailor the research objectives and methodologies according to your own interests, ideas, and skills development priorities.