Math Biology Seminar: Ailene MacPherson

A primary goal of evolution biology is to understand the mechanisms that generate and shape the vast diversity of life. From stable polymorphisms at susceptibility loci to the maintenance of sexual reproduction, pathogens are thought to play an import role in the maintenance of genetic diversity of their hosts. Indeed as evidenced by the death toll of the Plague in 14th century Europe to the decimation of African undulates by Rinderpest, infectious pathogens can exert strong selective pressures on their hosts. Using methods from Epidemiology we modelled coevolution between hosts and their infectious pathogens. We explore how coevolution, epidemiology, and stochasticity shape the genetic diversity of hosts.