Abigail Smith, from Carnegie Mellon University, worked with Reni Kaul in the lab of Dr. John Drake to develop models to study the effectiveness of vaccination strategies.
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Abigail L. Smith1<\/sup>, RajReni B. Kaul2<\/sup> and John M. Drake2<\/sup><\/p>\n 1<\/sup>Carnegie Mellon University, 2<\/sup>Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia<\/p>\n Vaccination is widely considered the most effective method of preventing the spread of infectious disease.\u00a0 Pulse vaccination strategy, the repeated application of a vaccine over a defined population at a set time interval is gaining prominence as a strategy for the elimination of diseases such as measles, hepatitis, and smallpox. In order to study the effectiveness of this strategy, a bench experiment will be designed using E.coli <\/i>bacteria and T7 bacteriophage, and studying the interactions and mechanisms in a chemostat. Using this system allows us to study the spread of infectious disease in laboratory setting. To test vaccination in system, a concentration of IPTG will be used to induce expression of the rcsA gene (immunity) in E. coli<\/i>. Results can be generalized from an experimental bench system (E. coli <\/i>bacteria and T7 phage) by developing a deterministic compartmental model, and then factoring in noise to form a stochastic model. Additional classes were added to track phage populations and experiment with vaccination strategy.\u00a0 Preliminary studies were designed to study early warning signs for approaching a bifurcation point and critical slowing down, by examining the phage being driven to extinction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n