Emerging areas in Mathematical Biology: Celebrating research from the Mathematical Biosciences Institute 

Grzegorz Rempala

The Ohio State University

"Modeling Epidemics on Networks"

This talk presents an overview of recent advances in modeling epidemic dynamics on networks, with a focus on pairwise and edge-based formulations of SIR-type processes on random graphs. I will outline a systematic framework for deriving and analyzing models across multiple levels of complexity, emphasizing the role of closure and approximation techniques. Particular attention will be given to conditions under which models become exact or analytically tractable, and to clarifying how commonly used heuristic models relate to their rigorous mathematical foundations.