Mathematical models to study the biology of pathogens and the infectious diseases they cause

Joao B Xavier; Jonathan M Monk; Saugat Poudel; Charles J Norsigian; Anand V Sastry; Chen Liao; Jose Bento; Marc A Suchard; Mario L Arrieta-Ortiz; Eliza J R Peterson; Nitin S Baliga; Thomas Stoeger; Felicia Ruffin; Reese A K Richardson; Catherine A Gao; Thomas D Horvath; Anthony M Haag; Qinglong Wu; Tor Savidge; Michael R Yeaman

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104079

Mathematical models to study the biology of pathogens and the infectious diseases they cause

iScience. 2022 Mar 15;25(4):104079. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104079. eCollection 2022 Apr 15.

Authors

Joao B Xavier¹, Jonathan M Monk², Saugat Poudel², Charles J Norsigian², Anand V Sastry², Chen Liao¹, Jose Bento³, Marc A Suchard⁴, Mario L Arrieta-Ortiz⁵, Eliza J R Peterson⁵, Nitin S Baliga⁵, Thomas Stoeger^{6

7}, Felicia Ruffin⁸, Reese A K Richardson^{6

7}, Catherine A Gao^{7

9}, Thomas D Horvath^{10

11}, Anthony M Haag^{10

11}, Qinglong Wu^{10

11}, Tor Savidge^{10

11}, Michael R Yeaman¹²

Affiliations

¹ Program for Computational and Systems Biology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
² Department of Bioengineering, UC San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
³ Computer Science Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Computational Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁵ Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁶ Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
⁷ Successful Clinical Response in Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT) Systems Biology Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
⁹ Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
¹¹ Department of Pathology, Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
¹² David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA & Lundquist Institute for Infection & Immunity at Harbor UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Abstract

Mathematical models have many applications in infectious diseases: epidemiologists use them to forecast outbreaks and design containment strategies; systems biologists use them to study complex processes sustaining pathogens, from the metabolic networks empowering microbial cells to ecological networks in the microbiome that protects its host. Here, we (1) review important models relevant to infectious diseases, (2) draw parallels among models ranging widely in scale. We end by discussing a minimal set of information for a model to promote its use by others and to enable predictions that help us better fight pathogens and the diseases they cause.

Keywords: Computer modeling; Infection control in health technology; Microbiology.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

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