Ken Eames BA MA PhD

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Background

I'm a mathematical biologist, based in the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases in the Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Unit at the LSHTM. Until recently I was working as an Emmanuel College research fellow in the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge. Before that I was an EPSRC-funded postdoctoral research fellow working at the Mathematics Institute and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Warwick.

Since April 2009 I have been busy with the swine flu pandemic; by running the UK flu survey I have been collecting valuable incidence and behavioural data from the general public, and through a NIHR funded grant I have been measuring changes in social mixing patterns in infected individuals.

Teaching

I am co-organiser of the Short Course "Introduction to Infectious Disease Modelling and its Applications". I teach extensively on this course and during the study module "Modelling and the dynamics of infectious diseases" (offered as part of the LSHTM MSc courses).

I have assisted with the LSHTM work experience projects, allowing local school pupils to spend time working with researchers on a range of scientific questions. I am currently involved with video conferences for schools organised through the Millennium Mathematics Project at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge. I have spoken about "The Mathematics of Disease" at a University of Liverpool Mathematics Masterclass for schools.

Recent talks:

• The Mathematics of Disease Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclass Day, University of Liverpool June 2010
  
• Surveillance and behaviour change: measuring the pandemic Infectious Disease Research Network workshop, Regents College, London June 2010
  
• Measuring social networks in schools EPIDEMICS conference, Athens December 2009
• Gripenet in the UK Epiwork meeting, ISI, Turin November 2009
• Weighted networks, mathematical models, and a bit of flu Seminar, Imperial College October 2009
  
• Human social contact patterns and the spread of infection Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease conference, University of Georgia May 2009
  
• Modelling epidemics on networks Seminar, University of Liverpool February 2009
  
• Weighted networks and disease control Seminar, University of Sussex January 2009.
  
• Approximations of individual level dynamics: approaches and omissions Spatial epidemiology workshop, Penn State University November 2008.
• Weighted networks: modelling and control ESF symposium, Utrecht November 2008.
  
• Epidemic control on weighted social networks SMB conference, Toronto August 2008.
• Mixing patterns in primary schools - classrooms, playgrounds, and transmission Transmission workshop, Warwick (poster presentation) July 2008.
• Childhood infectious diseases Wellcome Trust People Award project presentation, Cambridge July 2008.
• Mixing patterns in primary schools - data collection and public science POLYMOD meeting, Antwerp June 2008.
• Modelling epidemics on networks - what's the point? RAPIDD workshop, Penn State University April 2008.
• Outbreak! Tracking deadly diseases Royal Institution public lecture October 2007.
• Complex relationships: modelling epidemics on human social networks Seminar, CMS, Cambridge October 2007.
• Social interactions and epidemic dynamics SMB conference, San Jose August 2007.
• Modelling complicated relationships CCBI symposium, Cambridge May 2007.
• Epidemics in social networks: Biowire conference, Cambridge March 2007.
• Complex relationships: modelling human interactions Complex Systems conference, Lisbon November 2006.
• I got it from Agnes Seminar, Cambridge Infectious Disease Consortium June 2006.
• Epidemics on networks Seminar, BIFI, University of Zaragoza June 2006.
• Epidemics on networks - contact tracing and control Seminar, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine May 2006.
• Henry VIII and the Mormons Seminar, University of Warwick February 2006.

Research

My research concerns the mathematical modelling and epidemiology of human infectious diseases. I'm particularly interested in those that can be considered to spread through networks of interactions: these mixing networks include all interactions that can facilitate disease spread. For the purposes of visualisation local contacts are useful; they are also likely to be the norm in many social situations. However, "local" may refer to social rather than geographical space, so it's usually best to consider an abstract setting for these populations.

Measuring mixing networks is far from simple - often, it's not even clear which interactions a network should include - so I'm attempting to develop methods to model the spread of infection through networks that don't require the complete network to be known. I'm also involved with trying to come up with innovative ways to measure networks, particularly those involving epidemiologically important population subgroups such as school children.

My previous web-page, with a few more details, can be found here.

Selected publications

• Eames, K.T.D. Modelling disease spread through random and regular contacts in clustered populations Theoretical Population Biology, 2008; 73:104-111
• Read, J.M.; Eames, K.T.D.; Edmunds, W.J. Dynamic social networks and the implications for the spread of infectious disease Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2008; 5(26):1001-1007
• Eames, K.T.D. Contact tracing strategies in heterogeneous populations Epidemiology and Infection, 2007; 135(3):443-454
• Eames, K.T.D.; Keeling, M.J. Coexistence and specialization of pathogen strains on contact networks American Naturalist, 2006; 168(2):230-241
• Keeling, M.J.; Eames, K.T.D. Networks and epidemic models Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2005; 2(4):295-307
• Eames, K.T.D.; Keeling, M.J. Monogamous networks and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases Mathematical Biosciences, 2004; 189(2):115-130
• Eames, K.T.D.; Keeling, M.J. Contact tracing and disease control Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 2003; 270(1533):2565-2571
• Eames, K.T.D.; Keeling, M.J. Modeling dynamic and network heterogeneities in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2002; 99(20):13330-13335

Full publications listing (since 2001)