Keck Program in Evolutionary Dynamics Possible Themes - Simon Levin Disease systems are ecological systems, prime candidates for study from the viewpoint of complex adaptive systems. Evolutionary dynamics occur at levels from the immunological responses of individual organisms to novel antigens, to the self-organization of networks of interacting diseases, to the evolution of the vertebrate immune system. The topic is an ideal one for SFI to address because it requires the sort of interdisciplinary perspective that melds the diverse interests of SFI researchers.
Influenza is a model system for study.
Appearance of a strain or subtype within a population is epidemiologically important only if a sufficient core of susceptible individuals exists. There are fundamental evolutionary and coevolutionary issues, as well as implications for vaccination strategies, for which the expertise of others such as Feldman, Lewontin and May would be invaluable. Preliminary analyses of data and model outputs alike suggest that influenza A stains become self-organized into quasispecies, assemblages of molecularly distinct strains that interact strongly among themselves, and only weakly with other quasispecies. The main objective of this program would be to bring together the diverse SFI researchers involved with different aspects of this problem, and furthermore to bring into the picture others at SFI who could contribute new perspectives. Funding would be used therefore to support an annual meeting, as well as travel to and from SFI at other times.