Preventing the Next Pandemic

Explore the field of network epidemiology in this lecture from the Stanislaw Ulam Memorial Lecture Series. Delve into the application of complex systems science to uncover fundamental drivers of contagion and identify pressure points for effective disease control. Learn about the mathematical framework used to represent human connectivity and its role in elucidating transmission hotspots, early warning signs of emerging threats, and optimal strategies for deploying vaccines, antiviral medications, and social distancing interventions. Examine concepts such as degrees, centrality, community structure, and percolation theory in the context of epidemic spread. Investigate the basic reproduction number, types of networks, and the importance of breaking edges in disease containment. Discover how network epidemiology applies to real-world scenarios like walking pneumonia and HIV spread. Gain insights into dynamic networks, outbreak surveillance, and the significance of network context in understanding and preventing pandemics.