Modelling bacterial drug resistance

Antibiotic resistance is one of today's major global health problems. Mathematical models help us answer what if questions and evaluate the impact of specific interventions such as hands hygiene on the spread of bacterial drug resistance. Effective solutions are then translated into policy changes or changes in practice at national or international level.

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Ben Cooper holds an MRC senior non-clinical research fellowship and is based in Oxford.  

His work uses mathematical modelling and statistical techniques to help understand infectious disease dynamics and evaluate potential control measures.  This involves developing mathematical models to help evaluate the likely impact and cost-effectiveness of control measures,  developing and applying new statistical approaches based on mechanistic  models for the analysis of longitudinal infectious disease data (increasingly making use of whole genome sequence data), and  designing and analysing epidemiological studies.  The major focus of this work is on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in resource-limited hospital settings.

Additional projects include within-host dynamics of Plasmodium vivax, ecological interactions of the nasopharyngeal flora, cost-effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccination in Thailand, and dynamics and control of Hepatitis E infections in refugee camps.