PhD work-network models and network analysis

Rachael obtained her PhD at the University of Guelph with Drs. Amy Greer and Terri O’Sullivan. Her project focused on simulating disease transmission models on contact networks.
More specifically, Rachael used radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to record the contact that occurred within 6 different sport and competition farms. Rachael compared the contact networks through traditional network analysis methods, as well as through statistical methods such as exponential random graphs (ERGMs).  This comparison allowed her to make generalizations regarding the contact patterns that were collected, as well as to use the networks as a basis for examining the effect of introducing various pathogens (i.e. equine influenza) into the population in question.