This research brings together game theory and epidemiology to model host-pathogen coevolution. The research will look at host strategies to minimize the effect of the pathogen and will also look at changes in the pathogen that try to combat the host strategies. In particular, human hosts benefit from social contact, but that leads to propagation of infections. Avoiding social contact reduces the opportunity for the spread of infection, but may cause the pathogen to become more virulent. This would result in the same spread of infection, even with reduced social contact. The investigators will formulate a model of this interaction and study both the model and what impact it could have on public policy.
