This course is part of the Infectious Disease Modelling Specialization

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Nimalan Arinaminpathy

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Part of the Global Master of Public Health degree
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Infectious Disease Modelling SpecializationImperial College London

About this Course

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Compartmental modelling is a cornerstone of mathematical modelling of infectious diseases and this course will introduce  some  of  the  basic  concepts  in  building  compartmental  models, including how to interpret and represent rates, durations and proportions. You'll learn to place the mathematics to one side and concentrate on gaining intuition into the behaviour of a simple epidemic, and be introduced to further basic concepts of infectious disease epidemiology, such as the  basic reproduction number (R0) and its implications for infectious disease dynamics. To express the mathematical  underpinnings of the  basic drivers that you study, you'll use the simple SIR model, which, in turn, will help you examine different scenarios for reproduction numbers. Susceptibility to infection is the fuel for an infectious  disease, so understanding  the dynamics of susceptibility can offer important insights into epidemic dynamics, as well as priorities for control.

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Course 1 of 3 in the

Infectious Disease Modelling Specialization

Intermediate Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

What you will learn

Construct valid mathematical models capturing the natural history of a given infectious disease
Interpret compartmental models in terms of rates, proportions and delays
Describe the fundamental processes driving the dynamics of an SIR epidemic and show their relation to important concepts
Explain mechanisms by which susceptibility can change over time and develop a simple SIR model to account for these under given parameters

Skills you will gain

Mathematical Model
Infectious Diseases

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 1 of 3 in the

Infectious Disease Modelling Specialization

Intermediate Level

Approx. 21 hours to complete

English

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.85/5 (93 Ratings)

Nimalan Arinaminpathy

Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health

9,679 Learners

4 Courses

Offered by

Imperial College London

Imperial College London is a world top ten university with an international reputation for excellence in science, engineering, medicine and business. located in the heart of London. Imperial is a multidisciplinary space for education, research, translation and commercialisation, harnessing science and innovation to tackle global challenges.

Start working towards your Master's degree

This course is part of the 100% online Global Master of Public Health from Imperial College London. If you are admitted to the full program, your courses count towards your degree learning.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating99%(1,434 ratings)

Week

Week 1

8 hours to complete

Modelling the Basics

8 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 27 min), 4 readings

8 videos

Welcome to the Course1m

An Insider's View of IDM4m

Infected Cohorts and Simple Flows4m

Calculating Competing Hazards in Compartmental Models4m

The Force of Infection1m

Introduction to the SIR Model2m

Modelling the Force of Infection3m

Reflections on the SIR Model3m

4 readings

Welcome to Infectious Disease Modelling10m

About the Infectious Disease Modelling Team10m

Glossary10m

Modelling Infectious Disease Dynamics35m

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Anatomy of an Epidemic

3 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 17 min), 1 reading

Week

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Combining Modelling and Insights

4 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 11 min), 1 reading

Week

Week 4

7 hours to complete

Dynamics of Susceptibles

Susceptibility to infection is the fuel for an infectious disease; understanding the dynamics of susceptibility can offer important insights into epidemic dynamics, as well as priorities for control. In this module, building on the basic SIR model that you have coded so far, you will cover three important mechanisms by which susceptibility can change over the course of an epidemic: (i) population turnover, (ii) vaccination, (iii) immunity waning over time.

7 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 10 min)

Reviews

4.8

81 reviews

5 stars
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4 stars
7.85%
3 stars
0.41%
1 star
1.65%

TOP REVIEWS FROM DEVELOPING THE SIR MODEL

by SWFeb 27, 2021

Achievable targets, constant feedback, great balance between exercises, video, reading make this course truly rewarding and engaging. Thanks!

by DMJun 25, 2020

This is a wonderful course it helped me a lot in understanding basic and advance concepts of infectious disease modeling.

by MSAug 16, 2020

This is an excellent course. It covers a lot of material, but is very well organized. Gives a great introduction to infectious disease modeling that is intuitive and easy to follow.

by DKJun 22, 2020

A very good course. The right balance between epidemiology knowledge and developer skills. Video lessons were short and lucid. R orientation and notebooks were great.

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About the Infectious Disease Modelling Specialization

Mathematical modelling is increasingly being used to support public health decision-making in the control of infectious diseases. This specialisation aims to introduce some fundamental concepts of mathematical modelling with all modelling conducted in the programming language R - a widely used application today.

The specialisation will suit you if you have a basic working knowledge of R, but would also like to learn the necessary basic coding skills to write simple mathematical models in this language. While no advanced mathematical skills are required, you should be familiar with ordinary differential equations, and how to interpret them. You'll receive clear instruction in the basic theory of infectious disease modelling alongside practical, hands-on experience of coding models in the programming language R.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

Developing the SIR Model

About this Course

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Skills you will gain