VVZ API is not affiliated with ETH Zurich. Data might be outdated or incorrect. Please view the official ETHZ Vorlesungsverzeichnis for binding information.
Infectious Disease Dynamics
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:08:08
Abstract
This course introduces into current research on the population biology of infectious diseases. The course discusses the most important mathematical tools and their application to relevant diseases of human, natural or managed populations.
Objective
Attendees will learn about: * the impact of important infectious pathogens and their evolution on human, natural and managed populations * the population biological impact of interventions such as treatment or vaccination * the impact of population structure on disease transmission Attendees will learn how: * the emergence spread of infectious diseases is described mathematically * the impact of interventions can be predicted and optimized with mathematical models * population biological models are parameterized from empirical data * genetic information can be used to infer the population biology of the infectious disease The course will focus on how the formal methods ("how") can be used to derive biological insights about the host-pathogen system ("about").
Content
After an introduction into the history of infectious diseases and epidemiology the course will discuss basic epidemiological models and the mathematical methods of their analysis. We will then discuss the population dynamical effects of intervention strategies such as vaccination and treatment. In the second part of the course we will introduce into more advanced topics such as the effect of spatial population structure, explicit contact structure, host heterogeneity, and stochasticity. In the final part of the course we will introduce basic concepts of phylogenetic analysis in the context of infectious diseases.
Resources
Lecture Notes
Slides and script of the lecture will be available online.
Literature
The course is not based on any of the textbooks below, but they are excellent choices as accompanying material: * Keeling & Rohani, Modeling Infectious Diseases in Humans and Animals, Princeton Univ Press 2008 * Anderson & May, Infectious Diseases in Humans, Oxford Univ Press 1990 * Murray, Mathematical Biology, Springer 2002/3 * Nowak & May, Virus Dynamics, Oxford Univ Press 2000 * Holmes, The Evolution and Emergence of RNA Viruses, Oxford Univ Press 2009
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC , MSC , DR
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- end-of-semester examination
- Mode
- oral 20 minutes
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Infectious Disease Dynamics |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
-
-
Additional Electives from the Fields of Specialization (CSE Master) (recognition of 227-0662-00L and 227-0662-10L requires the successful completion of both course units)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Master (More informations at: )
-
Advanced Courses (A total of 30 ECTS needs to be acquired in the Advanced Courses category. Thereof at least 16 ECTS in the Theory and 10 ECTS in the Biology category. Note that some of the lectures are being recorded: )
-
Biology (At least 10 ECTS need to be acquired in this category.)
-
-
-
-
-
General Electives (Students may choose General Electives from the entire course programme of ETH Zurich - with the following restrictions: courses that belong to the first or second year of a Bachelor curriculum at ETH Zurich as well as courses from GESS "Science in Perspective" are not eligible here. The following courses are explicitly recommended to physics students by their lecturers. (Courses in this list may be assigned to the category "General Electives" directly in myStudies. For the category assignment of other eligible courses keep the choice "no category" and take contact with the Study Administration ( ) after having received the credits.))
-
-
-
Doctorate Environmental Sciences (More Information at: )
-
-
-
-
-