Fredrik Liljeros: "Recent Progress in the Study of Large Empirical Contact Networks"

Lecture to be held on Monday May 8, 2006, 18:15.
Room D 16.2, Main Building, ETH Zurich.

Highly infectious communicable diseases can, in many contexts, accurately be modelled with simplified assumptions of random interaction and homogenous mixing within and between the individuals and groups forming the population. To model less infectious diseases such as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), sexually transmitted infections and Small-pox, a more precise knowledge of the nature of social contact structure is required.In this seminar I will present empirical research concerning different contact networks, such as Internet dating, hospital in-patients and various types of contact between individuals in the society at large that may be of importance for the transmission of less infectious diseases. This work is being carried out by the Stockholm group for epidemic modelling (WWW.S-GEM.SE).