Title: Mathematical models of the spread of drug resistance in malaria
 
Abstract: Malaria is a resilient disease characterized by complex live histories of the pathogen and the vector and still a major threat to global development. We introduce a deterministic modelling framework for the evolution of anti-malarial drug-resistance, which accurately incorporates malaria transmission. In particular, the dynamics of resistance conferring mutations and their impact on neutral genetic variation (genetic hitchhiking) are modeled. It is shown that the processes of selection and recombination cannot be separated as in standard population-genetic models. Indeed, the interplay of selection and recombination is mediated by multiplicity of infection (MOI), i.e., the number of (super-)infecting parasite variants. Importantly, the extent of genetic hitchhiking around resistance conferring alleles crucially depends on MOI.
 
The framework’s advantage is that vector dynamics and intra-host dynamics do not need to be modeled explicitly. Vector dynamics enter the model via MOI, while intra-host dynamics are subsumed by fitness parameters. Complementary models can be incorporated to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these parameters. In particular, it is shown how MOI and selection parameters can be estimated from molecular data.

Bio: Kristan A. Schneider studied mathematics at the University of Vienna from 1999-2002, and received his PhD there in 2005, specializing in population genetic modeling. Afterward, he continued to work there as postdoctoral fellow and assistant professor and completed his habilitation in 2010. From 2009-2011 he was employed at Arizona State University and the Biodesign Institute at ASU, where he engaged in modeling of infectious diseases, particularly in malaria. He was a full professor at Hochschule Mittweida from 2012-2024 before joining UNM School of Medicine, where he is appointed as a professor at the Center for Global Health and the Translational Informatics Division at the Department of Internal Medicine. He is a recognized expert in mathematical modelling and statistics with application in various fields, including infectious diseases, including malaria, COVID-19, mpox, Ebola and Marburg virus disease. He established collaborations with public-health authorities including the CDC, the US Navy and the ICMR. Kristan Schneider is also engaging in strategic partnerships with several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Zoom Information:

https://unm.zoom.us/j/98912959181

Meeting ID: 989 1295 9181
Passcode: 811422