Request for Applications
From mmed
US-Africa Clinic on the Meaningful Modeling of Epidemiological Data
May 24 - June 4, 2010, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Muizenberg, South Africa
The Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS), in collaboration with the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modeling and Analysis (SACEMA), and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is holding a 2 week modeling clinic that will emphasize the use of data in understanding infectious disease dynamics. The Clinic will bring together graduate students, post doctoral students, and researchers from the United States and Africa, with the goal of engaging the participants in epidemiological modeling projects that use real data to grapple with practical questions in a meaningful way.
The Clinic will consist of a series of discussions and tutorials that will guide participants through the process of data-based epidemiological modeling. The participants will then apply what they have learned using similar techniques to additional data sets. While the organizers will be prepared with their own analyses of the data sets, it is expected that the process will be open-ended and interactive and that the participants' models will not exactly match the organizers' expectations. Participants are encouraged to bring data sets and questions to the Clinic, and to start collaborative projects with each other or the organizers. Various statistical and modeling paradigms will be discussed. Computer exercises and group projects will reinforce and extend the various concepts covered. Participants are encouraged to continue research projects begun during the Clinic when they return to their home institutions.
Students and researchers with prior exposure to mathematical epidemiology are encouraged to apply, and all participants will be required to present a poster on previous or ongoing research that is related to the Clinic's themes.
Through funds provided by the US National Science Foundation and SACEMA, funding is available through DIMACS, AIMS and SACEMA to help cover the food and lodging of Clinic participants. Partial travel support will be available for a limited number of US applicants. The application process for the Clinic is highly competitive; applicants are urged to submit their application materials as early as possible.
The deadline for receipt of applications is February 15, 2010.
A description of the application procedure, eligibility requirements, and all necessary forms are located online and can be accessed through the Clinic's website:
http://lalashan.mcmaster.ca/theobio/mmed/
- An Adobe PDF version of the request for applications is available here.
