Edward Hill
I am currently a third year PhD student on the complexity science doctoral training program at the University of Warwick, and a Zeeman Institute: Systems Biology & Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research (SBIDER) group member.
Information on conferences I have attended can be found here.
Update: I completed my PhD in July 2017. My thesis titled "Mathematical modelling approaches for spreading processes : zoonotic influenza and social contagion" can be found here.
I am now a post-doc in the Zeeman Institute: Systems Biology & Infectious Disease Epidemiology Research (SBIDER) group at the Univeristy of Warwick. I am working with Professor Matt Keeling on mathematical modelling of seasonal influenza to test existing and novel vaccination strategies, and using economic models to assess cost-effectiveness, to inform government policy.
Research Interests
Key topics of interest are:
- Epidemiology
- Control of infectious diseases
- Bayesian inference
- Public health
PhD Project: Modelling influenza at the human-animal interface
Supervisors: Dr Thomas House & Dr Michael Tildesley
Influenza inhabits many hosts and has many strains. The biology and epidemiology of influenza is radically different depending on the host species: while ducks are essentially asymptomatic carriers of all influenza strains, in other birds and mammals influenza can be lethal. Very occasionally, humans become infected with a virus derived from non-human sources. These are essentially novel to humans. Due to the viruses meeting with little or no established resistance they can, following mutation and adaptation to their new host, spread relatively easily in the human species. This can give rise to a localised outbreak that may develop into a worldwide influenza pandemic.
There is a worrying gap in the modelling of spillover transmission from animals to humans. My project will focus on addressing the lack of established modelling tools that represent this interface, with the applied aim of aiding design of control strategies for influenza in presence of multiple strains at the animal-human interface, and their effectiveness.
Research Internship: Modelling visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil
During June-September 2016, I worked with Orin Courtenay and Erin Dilger, from the School of Life Sciences, and fellow mathematical modeller Elizabeth Buckingham-Jeffery on a four month research internship developing a mathematical model of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil; a vector borne disease with an animal reservoir. This will be used to inform intervention strategies.
Research Internship: Developing adaptive management frameworks to minimise impact of avian influenza outbreaks
During October 2016 - January 2017, I worked with Mike Tildesley on a four month research internship developing an adaptive management approach for modelling H5N1 avian influenza in Bangladesh. This methodology determines optimal control policies that can adapt to accrual of information to ensure that policy measures that are implemented are appropriate for the state of an infectious disease outbreak. This will enable policy makers in the region to implement interventions that will reduce the impact of future disease outbreaks.
Publications
- Modelling H5N1 in Bangladesh across spatial scales: Model complexity and zoonotic transmission risk
Edward M. Hill, Thomas House, Madhur S. Dhingra, Wantanee Kalpravidh, Subhash Morzaria, Muzaffar G. Osmani, Mat Yamage, Xiangming Xiao, Marius Gilbert, Michael J. Tildesley (2017)
Epidemics, 20C: 37-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2017.02.007. - Evidence for history-dependence of influenza pandemic emergence
Edward M. Hill, Michael J. Tildesley and Thomas House (2017)
Scientific Reports, 7: 43623. doi:10.1038/srep43623. -
Edward M. Hill, Frances E. Griffiths and Thomas House (2015)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 282(1813). http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1180.
Interviews
I wrote an article on our work modelling the spread of mood in school friendship networks for "The Conversation", and the article "When it comes to mental health, parents shouldn’t worry who their children are friends with" can be found here.
Previous Study
- 2008-2012: Master of Mathematics (MMath), University of Warwick.
Graduated with 1st class honours. - 2012-2013: Master of Science (MSc) in Complexity Science, University of Warwick.
Graduated with Distinction.
Details of my two mini research projects, undertaken as part of the MSc, can be found here.
Other Activities
Professional development:
- In addition to my PhD I have completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Transferable Skills in Science (PGCTSS). This is a three year qualification during which I took modules in team building, scientific writing and project management, alongside development of doctoral skills.
Reading Groups
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Co-ordinator of an epidemiology reading group.
Workshop/Conference Organisation
- Co-organiser of the Centre for Complexity Science Annual Retreat 2016, 3rd-6th May 2016.
- Co-organiser of the Centre for Complexity Science Annual Retreat 2015, 11th-14th May 2015.
-
Co-organiser (with fellow PhD student Elizabeth Buckingham-Jeffery) of the "Mathematical Challenges for Long Epidemic Time Series" workshop. 16th-17th December 2014, University of Warwick.
- Co-organiser (with fellow PhD student Elizabeth Buckingham-Jeffery) of the "Big Data and Google Flu" workshop, 15th December 2014, University of Warwick. This workshop was part of the Warwick Data Science Institute (WDSI) Year of Big Data workshop series.
SSLC
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Student representative on the Staff-Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) for the academic year 2014-2015 & 2015-16.
Teaching
- Teaching: Teaching Assistant for 4th year undergraduate Mathematics course MA4E7 Population Dynamics: Ecology & Epidemiology, Warwick Mathematics Institute, 2016.
- Teaching: Supervisor for 1st year undergraduate Mathematics students, Warwick Mathematics Institute, 2013-14.
Email:
Edward (dot) Hill (at) warwick (dot) ac (dot) uk
Office:
D2.05
Centre for Complexity Science
Zeeman Building
University of Warwick
CV4 7AL
Web:
