Dr. Elsa Schaefer loves to help students think ambitiously, especially when it comes to the contributions they can make in their field. An excellent way to do that, she\u0092s learned, is to involve them in research.<\/p>\n
\u0093Many students who don\u0092t necessarily love the classroom love doing research,\u0094 the professor of mathematics says. \u0093Often when they see how the two connect it helps them appreciate things they previously thought were boring.\u0094<\/p>\n
Her latest project involves fighting the spread of the West Nile Virus. Working with a team from Virginia Commonwealth University studying American robins, along with an entomologist working on mosquito abatement in Louisiana, Schaefer and her students use optimal control theory to determine the best way to limit the virus\u0092 spread.<\/p>\n
\u0093Optimal control theory can help us do things like quantify whether a more-expensive treatment, such as avian vaccination versus the cheaper application of insecticide, is effective enough to warrant the costs,\u0094 Schaefer says.<\/p>\n
The work includes two Marymount undergraduates, Shonell Moses and Bernadette Wunderly, both juniors who are being paid through a grant.\u00a0 A volunteer undergraduate from Washington College \u0096 who happens to be Schaefer\u0092s daughter \u0096 completes the team.<\/p>\n
\u0093Most of our work is done from Arlington, though the group got to travel to VCU to meet with the biology group that\u0092s trying to find bird nests,\u0094 Schaefer says. \u0093I know from experience that those sort of trips make the research more tangible.\u0094<\/p>\n
\u0093I really love mathematical epidemiology,\u0094 Schaefer says. \u0093I get to play with models that help me understand the real world and to use it to make suggestions that have a real value.\u0094<\/p>\n
She\u0092s also studied models of cholera and tick-borne diseases.<\/p>\n
Schaefer has worked with students on research for a dozen years.<\/p>\n
\u0093I\u0092ve learned the most important thing is to make sure they enjoy the work,\u0094 she says. \u0093Then it becomes their own project and we get better results.\u0094<\/p>\n
Schaefer, who earned her bachelor of science degree from Agnes Scott College and her Ph.D. from Emory University, sees an additional benefit: \u0093Including students in my research also makes my career a lot more fun!\u0094<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dr. Elsa Schaefer loves to help students think ambitiously, especially when it comes to the contributions they can make in their field. An excellent way to do that, she\u0092s learned, is to involve them in research. \u0093Many students who don\u0092t necessarily love the classroom love doing research,\u0094 the professor of mathematics says. \u0093Often when they […]<\/p>\n