Mathematical Biology Seminar Catherine Beauchemin, Ryerson University Wednesday March 5, 2008 3:05pm in LCB 219 "Theoretical modelling of influenza viral infection" Abstract: Influenza A is a growing concern for health authorities worldwide. The annual cost of influenza illness and the threat of an imminent pandemic make it all the more necessary to better understand the mechanisms that drive this disease. Since the influenza virus was first isolated in 1933, much attention has been given to its structure, its genome, the immune response it elicits, vaccines to protect against it, and its epidemiology. Information concerning the kinetics of influenza during an infection within an individual, however, is limited. In this talk, I will review what we understand of influenza. I will then present various mathematical and computational models which I have developed in order to investigate specific mechanisms involved in an influenza infection.