The Coronavirus pandemic highlights a need for mathematical modelling to guide critical policy decisions, with many new questions requiring urgent investigation. This research provides a student the opportunity to make immediate impact on public health policy. Diseases with pandemic potential have been emerging roughly every 5 years, so this is an area of research that is likely to have long-term importance.

The successful applicant will develop and analyse mathematical models which will help with understanding:

the impact of population heterogeneity on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the effectiveness of interventions.
the ethical implications of interventions to control infectious disease. How and when can we justify restricting one person’s actions to protect others?
the spread of misinformation about diseases and therapies, and potential interventions to reduce its impact.
disease spread in wildlife and livestock.

Deadline is 31 Mar 2021 for international applicants (but please be aware of the fact that Australia is a day ahead of much of the world). 30 April for Australian applicants.