The ”Introduction to Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Modelling” short course, organised by the Vaccine Research and Development Center at Nagasaki University supported by the Strategic Center of Biomedical Advanced Vaccine Research and Development for Preparedness and Response (SCARDA), took place in Nagasaki University between 22 July and 29 July 2024. 

More than 30 students attended the short course at the School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health (and with a scorching 35 degrees with 70% humidity outside, it certainly felt tropical). A few CMMID members and alumni joined the teaching team: Akira Endo (organiser), Alexis Robert, Simon Procter, Kaja Abbas, Hyolim Kang, Su Myat Han (lecturers), Ayaka Monoi, Toshiaki Asakura and Sol Kim (teaching assistants). The objective of the course was to give a broad introduction to how mathematical modelling is used to understand infectious disease dynamics, focusing on the contexts in which models can be used, what research questions they can answer, and the assumptions behind them. 

Topics ranged from modelling STI transmission to vector-borne diseases, with focuses on vaccine impact modelling and outbreak response. Students also had the chance to follow special lectures presenting specific questions related to modelling, for instance with John Edmunds’ talk on Modelling and communication with health authorities during the COVID-19 response, Kiesha Prem’s talk on estimating and using age-stratified contact matrices in various settings and Laura Skrip’s talk on dynamic social behaviours including interactions between outbreak experiences and vaccine acceptance. We are all looking forward to the third instalment of the course in 2025!

- Written by Alexis Robert