Location: Fields Institute , 222 College Street, Toronto

March 27, 2009- 3:30 p.m.
Catherine Beauchemin
Ryerson University

AUDIO AND SLIDES

The contributions of theoretical models in exploring the dynamics of in-host influenza infections

Since the flu virus was first isolated in 1933, much attention has been given to its structure, its genome, the immune response it elicits, vaccines to protect against it, and its epidemiology. Information concerning the kinetics of flu during an infection within an individual, however, is limited. For example, key parameters such as the rate at which flu-infected cells produce virus or the fraction of these viruses that are productively infectious, are still unknown.

In this talk, I will review what is known of flu kinetics. I will then present how mathematical and computational models have improved our understanding of specific mechanisms involved in a flu infection. In particular, I will discuss the use of models to capture the dynamics of a seasonal flu infection within human volunteers, to extract information about the effect of the anti-flu drug amantadine on viral kinetics in vitro, and to characterize the emergence of drug resistance under treatment. I will also explore how the predictive power of these models can help guide public health decisions with regards to drug treatment strategies, and rapid strain identification through the clever pairing of specific models and experiments, working in synergy. This talk is at a level that will be of interest to both theoretical modellers and public health workers.