Striving for more realism, more complex models include such detail as time delays, spatial heterogeneity, age structure, two sexes, multigroups, vectors, and stochastic variation. The dynamical systems that result are highly nonlinear and complex. This session is designed to bring together established and younger mathematicians and statisticians, biologists, and epidemiologists to take up the current challenges of mathematical epidemiology. It is important to have an interdisciplinary group of speakers and participants. The mathematical analysis involved includes identification of important thresholds that determine whether the disease dies out or becomes endemic.
Some models can exhibit bifurcation to periodic solutions or more complicated behavior.
Data analysis and numerical simulation play an important role. It is intended that this workshop will continue the evolution of modern applied mathematics motivated by epidemic models.