Organization
Rhodes College
Erin N. Bodine
Profile
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Employment StatusUniversity / 4-year College Faculty - Tenured
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ORCID0000-0001-7885-1233
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Biography
My interest in environmental issues and the biological sciences led me to pursue mathematical biology/ecology which allows me to explore biological phenomenon through a mathematical lens. My biological interests include many areas of population dynamics. I have worked and am currently working on several models for the spread of various infectious diseases (HIV, HSV, MRSA, and Ebolavirus) through populations. Many of the papers resulting from this research emphasized methods for evaluating complex model responses as affected by large numbers of parameters. Another branch of my research utilizes modeling and optimal control theory applied to differential equations and discrete difference equations to develop optimal management strategies for conserving/preserving dynamic ecological systems or managing the spread of a disease. Optimal control theory is a mathematical theory that determines the best or optimal strategy given competing objectives and various constraints. For example, when and how should treatment to a cancer patient be given to minimize the size of a tumor over some given time, while also minimizing the amount of treatment given and therefore the severity of negative side effects felt by the patient? Optimal control theory provides a power set of mathematical theory to answer these types of questions and has been used in a wide variety of applications. Recently, I have begun using individual/agent-based modeling to explore questions in species conservation, particularly within small populations where individual stochasticity plays a larger role in population survival.
See my curriculum vitae (posted on my website) for a complete and current list of my publications.