Investigations into Agent-Based Malaria Transmission Models

Agent-based models allow for more descriptive results than simpler mathematical models, especially for the individuals that reside and interact within the model. For disease transmission models, the agents modeled usually include hosts that get sick, vectors that transmit, and/or the interventions themselves. One common disease that is typically modeled in this fashion is Malaria. Normally, disease transmission models have been created for a unique research purpose, but then are discarded once the research is complete. This means that if another researcher required a model to answer similar questions, they would need to build their own model from scratch. However, with an ever increasing ability to share information, it is becoming more common for many researchers one model that can be modified to fit many research purposes. My thesis work involves aligning two well-used models, EMOD and OpenMalaria, and creating a new climate-based mosquito habitat model for the former.