Université de Montréal
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Timothée Poisot
Patrick Leighton, Université de Montréal
Start: 2020-05-01

Project

Machine Learning applied to Disease Ecology
Forecasting disease infectious outbreaks is challenging due to the complexity of biological dynamics. Recent advances in computational sciences seem promising for addressing data heterogeneity and approximating outcome measures when facing the inherent noise surrounding biological processes. The overall goal of my PhD project is to introduce methodologies that enhance our comprehension of the temporal and spatial factors associated with pathogen transmission and to advance our ability to forecast its spread. This research encompasses the study of various pathogens, including β-coronavirus transmission among bats and the spread of rabies within raccoon and skunk populations. We anticipate that our methods will contribute to the field of disease ecology by the acquisition of comprehensive insights into outbreak development and their timely identification.

Keywords

Outbreak, Disease ecology, modelling, wildlife

Publications

1- Mismatch between IUCN range maps and species interactions data illustrated using the Serengeti food web
Higino, Gracielle T., Francis Banville, Gabriel Dansereau, Norma Rocio Forero Muñoz, Fredric Windsor, Timothée Poisot
2023 PeerJ

2- Ten simple rules for teaching yourself R
Jake Lawlor, Francis Banville, Norma-Rocio Forero-Muñoz, Katherine Hébert, Juan Andrés Martínez-Lanfranco, Pierre Rogy, A. Andrew M. MacDonald
2022 PLOS Computational Biology

3- A roadmap towards predicting species interaction networks (across space and time)
Strydom, Tanya, Michael D. Catchen, Francis Banville, Dominique Caron, Gabriel Dansereau, Philippe Desjardins-Proulx, Norma R. Forero-Muñoz, Gracielle Higino, Benjamin Mercier, Andrew Gonzalez, Dominique Gravel, Laura Pollock, Timothée Poisot
2021 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

4- Computers Can Help us Find Raccoons and Other Living Creatures
Higino, Gracielle Teixeira, Norma Forero, Francis Banville, Gabriel Dansereau, Timothée Poisot
2021 Frontiers for Young Minds

5- Phylogenetic evidence of the intercontinental circulation of a Canine distemper virus lineage in the Americas
Duque-Valencia, July, Norma R. Forero-Muñoz, Francisco J. Díaz, Elisabete Martins, Paola Barato, Julian Ruiz-Saenz
2019 Scientific Reports