The project provides international research experiences for 11 young Americans to carry out research at the interface of mathematics and the ecology of infectious and vector borne diseases with a cadre of researchers conducting interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary research at the premier private, nonprofit, research university in Colombia, Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES). The students? projects will be driven by the study of Chagas in sylvatic communities with focus on learning the complexity of the eco-epidemiological cycle of T. cruzi while appreciating the challenges of eradicating the disease directly from world experts and on the development of models for the study of dengue epidemics in Latin America and how they differ from their counterpart in Southeast Asia. The research will be carried out in collaborations with the Center for the Study of Tropical Parasitology (CIMPAT) and the Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology Lab (EVOLVERT) at The Universidad de los Andes. Professor Juan M. Cordovez, the Director of the Research Group on Mathematical and Computational Biology (Grupo de Investigación en BiologÃa Matemática y Computacional, BIOMAC), within the Departamento de IngenierÃa Biomédica, would provide the link between Arizona State University and UNIANDES.
The training of Americans on the use of models in the study of the ecology and transmission dynamics of diseases like Dengue or Chagas is important to the US leadership role in a global economy. Our nation?s model of competitive success counts on the direct personal participation of our citizens in activities such as travel and trade that includes risks and economic opportunities associated. The project provides international research experiences for 11 young Americans to carry out research at the interface of mathematics and the ecology of infectious and vector borne diseases at the Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES) in Colombia South America. The research will be carried out in collaborations with the Center for the Study of Tropical Parasitology (CIMPAT) and the Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology Lab (EVOLVERT) at the Universidad de los Andes.
