Math Biology Seminar: Bryan Mayer

In this talk, I will discuss applications of statistical and mathematical models to study two different human herpesviruses. First, I will demonstrate how viral load data can be used to estimate viral load thresholds required for transmission of genital herpes infection. This information provides a vital link between viral pathogenesis at the single host level and epidemiologic spread of the virus. Second, using data collected from a study in Uganda, I analyze primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in infants, where little is known about the natural history of infection. In this cohort, infants with primary CMV infection persistently shed virus for extended periods of time (> 180 days) with characteristic kinetics. Here, a mathematical model is employed to explain different phases of primary infection.