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Nina Fefferman, PhD
| Positions |
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Assistant Research Professor of Public Health and Family Medicine
Co-Director of InForMID
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| Contact |
Tufts University School of Medicine
136 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02111
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| Education |
| Degree(s) |
A.B., Math; M.S., Math; Ph.D, Biology |
| Institution(s) |
Princeton Univinversity, Rutgers Univiversity, Tufts University |
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| Research
Focus |
I am interested in the application of mathematical and computational models to biological systems.
My research focuses on (though is not limited to) the effects of animal behavior, ecology and infectious disease epidemiology on one another. I model disease in both human and animal populations, and am very interested in the development of social insects as a model biological system for studying disease spread in human societies. In order to build these models, I work closely with lab and field researchers and others who, like myself, tend towards the more theoretical aspects of research.
Mathematically, I am interested in Complex Systems: the mathematics of studying the conclusions or outputs of systems where each component is incredibly simple (governed by a small set of logical rules), but when you put a lot of them together they react to each other and create highly organized systems and incredibly complex behaviors. Not only are these systems interesting by themselves, but they have direct applications to the types of biological problems mentioned above.
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| Select
Publications |
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Fefferman , N.H., and E.N. Naumova. Combinatorial Decomposition of an Outbreak Signature. (In Press, Mathematical Biosciences)
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Fefferman , N.H. and J.M. Reed. A Vital Rate Sensitivity Analysis that is Valid for Non-Stable Age Distributions and for Short-Term Planning. (In Press, Journal of Wildlife Management)
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Fefferman, N.H., and P.T.B. Starks. A Modeling Approach to Swarming in Honey Bees. Insectes Sociaux, 53(1):37-45.
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Fefferman , N.H., E.A. O′Neil, and E.N. Naumova. 2005. Confidentiality vs Confidence: The aggravation of aggregation as a remedy in public health. Journal of Public Health Policy, 26(4):430-449.
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Fefferman , N.H., J. Jagai, and E.N. Naumova. 2004. Two - Stage Wavelet Analysis Assessment of Dependencies in Time Series of Disease Incidence. Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the International Environmetrics Society
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Fefferman , N.H. 2004. Applications of Mathematical Models to Resolving Questions in Animal Behavior, Ecology and Epidemiology. (Doctoral Dissertation)
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MacLeod, N., N. Ortiz, N.H. Fefferman, W. Clyde, C. Schulter, and J. MacLean. 2002. Phenotypic Response of Foraminifera to episodes of global environmental change. in Biotic Response to Global Change. eds S.J. Culver and P. Rawson. Cambridge University Press
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Fefferman , N.H. and J.F.A. Traniello. Social Insects as Models in Epidemiology: Establishing the Foundation for an Interdisciplinary Approach to Disease and Sociality. (Forthcoming) in Organization of Insect Societies: From Genome to Sociocomplexity eds J. Gadau and J. Fewell. Harvard University Press
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Fefferman, N.H., and P.T.B. Starks. Polistes Nest Founding Behavior: a Model for the Selective Maintenance of Alternative Behavioral Phenotypes. Invited Manuscript for Special Issue on Polistes Wasps. (Forthcoming)
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