The Knoxville News Sentinel featured research from The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) that is investigating La Crosse Encephalitis, a rare-mosquito-borne illness.
This summer, three students in the NIMBioS summer research program and one teacher from Pi Beta Phi Elementary School in Gatlinburg looked at mapping the spread of La Crosse by using data collected by Becky Trout Fryxell, UT assistant professor in entomology and plant pathology, and her students. They are developing a mathematical model to identify variables that can be used to predict mosquito populations, the number of infected mosquitoes, and the risk to humans.
Fryxell has been leading a rotating team of graduate and undergraduate students concerning the spread of La Crosse in East Tennessee.
NIMBioS, based at UT, offers summer research programs for undergraduates from around the country and teachers to allow them to work on projects that connect math and biology.