Modelling COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, mathematical epidemiologists share their views on what models reveal about how the disease has spread, the current state of play and what work still needs to be done. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, mathematical epidemiologists share their views on what models reveal about how the disease has spread, the current state of play and what work still needs to be done. The contributors Alessandro Vespignani is an Italian-American physicist, currently Sternberg Family Distinguished University Professor of Physics, Computer Science and Health Sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, USA. He is the director of the Network Science Institute, and is best known for his work on complex networks and his contributions to computational epidemiology by developing specific tools for analysing the global spread of epidemics. Huaiyu Tian is a Professor of Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease at Beijing Normal University, China, and Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. His interdisciplinary research focuses on the mechanistic processes that link biological and ecological change to disease dynamics. His lab combines geospatial computing, field surveillance, molecular epidemiology and ecological modelling. Christopher Dye is a Visiting Professor of Zoology and Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. He is a former Director of Strategy at the World Health Organization, and is currently editor of coronavirusexplained.ukri.org/en/ , a website that explains the science of coronavirus outbreaks, hosted by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). James O. Lloyd-Smith is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research explores the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of infectious disease in animal and human populations, with emphasis on the emergence of novel pathogens. His group combines mathematical models, statistical analysis, and laboratory, clinical and field studies to study diseases such as monkeypox, leptospirosis, influenza and now COVID-19. Rosalind M. Eggo is a mathematical modeller focusing on directly transmitted viral pathogens and the severe outcomes resulting from infection. She works at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Munik Shrestha is a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University in the Network Science Institute. He has contributed fundamental theory on message-passing algorith