{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129501"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/129501","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Host heterogeneity and respiratory disease dynamics: From structural inequity to immune history","abstract":"Host heterogeneity is a core driver of infectious disease dynamics and has been widely explored in ecology and evolution. However, in human populations, social inequity remains underexplored as a source of heterogeneity despite having long been identified as a threat to global health and infectious disease control. In this work, we draw from established ecological frameworks such as metapopulation theory and classic resource consumption curves to explore the impact of sociodemographic disparities and host immune history on human coronavirus dynamics. First, we characterize national and subnational socioeconomic (SES) disparities in COVID-19 vaccination over time, and used transmission models to show that improving the speed and timing of vaccination for all groups has a greater impact on disease-related deaths than trying to resolve deeply entrenched disparities. Second, we explore the importance of incorporating known socioeconomic disparities into transmission models, comparing models with and without this stratification. We find that a model adapted to include SES-stratified parameters returns higher estimates of disease burden than its SES-agnostic counterpart. Third, we use transmission models to quantify the effect of SARS-CoV-2 bivalent booster formulations in populations with high pre-existing immunity, showing that booster implementation is more important than booster formulation. Fourth, we reimagine serocatalytic models for seasonal coronaviruses, finding that models capturing a gradient of serostatus always outperform binary classifications of seropositive and seronegative. These new models and theoretical frameworks can be leveraged in the future to gain insight into SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases. Finally, we analyze the impact of spatial connectivity of populations on respiratory disease dynamics in Illinois, finding that increasing community connectivity across vulnerable groups and promoting effective isolation of individuals during infection can reduce disparities and disease burden for all. Across the studies presented here, we found that the impact of host heterogeneity on disease dynamics was often counterintuitive, highlighting that developing a thorough understanding of social disparities and their consequences is crucial for disease control.","abstract_html":"Host heterogeneity is a core driver of infectious disease dynamics and has been widely explored in ecology and evolution. However, in human populations, social inequity remains underexplored as a source of heterogeneity despite having long been identified as a threat to global health and infectious disease control. In this work, we draw from established ecological frameworks such as metapopulation theory and classic resource consumption curves to explore the impact of sociodemographic disparities and host immune history on human coronavirus dynamics. First, we characterize national and subnational socioeconomic (SES) disparities in COVID-19 vaccination over time, and used transmission models to show that improving the speed and timing of vaccination for all groups has a greater impact on disease-related deaths than trying to resolve deeply entrenched disparities. Second, we explore the importance of incorporating known socioeconomic disparities into transmission models, comparing models with and without this stratification. We find that a model adapted to include SES-stratified parameters returns higher estimates of disease burden than its SES-agnostic counterpart. Third, we use transmission models to quantify the effect of SARS-CoV-2 bivalent booster formulations in populations with high pre-existing immunity, showing that booster implementation is more important than booster formulation. Fourth, we reimagine serocatalytic models for seasonal coronaviruses, finding that models capturing a gradient of serostatus always outperform binary classifications of seropositive and seronegative. These new models and theoretical frameworks can be leveraged in the future to gain insight into SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases. Finally, we analyze the impact of spatial connectivity of populations on respiratory disease dynamics in Illinois, finding that increasing community connectivity across vulnerable groups and promoting effective isolation of individuals during infection can reduce disparities and disease burden for all. Across the studies presented here, we found that the impact of host heterogeneity on disease dynamics was often counterintuitive, highlighting that developing a thorough understanding of social disparities and their consequences is crucial for disease control.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Larsen, Soren L."],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Ecol, Evol, Conservation Biol","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Martinez, Pamela P","Cáceres, Carla E","Smith, Rebecca L","Kirkpatrick, Kay","Kraay, Alicia NM"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-04-15","date_published":"2025-04-15","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:05Z","subjects":["SARS-CoV-2","influenza","seasonal coronavirus","social disparities","infectious disease dynamics","mathematical modeling","SEIR","host heterogeneity"],"languages":["eng","en"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Soren Larsen"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129501","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Martinez, Pamela P","Cáceres, Carla E","Smith, Rebecca L","Kirkpatrick, Kay","Kraay, Alicia NM"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Larsen, Soren L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-04-15","2025-05"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis","text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Ecol, Evol, Conservation Biol"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["SARS-CoV-2","influenza","seasonal coronavirus","social disparities","infectious disease dynamics","mathematical modeling","SEIR","host heterogeneity"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng","en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Soren Larsen"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129501"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Host heterogeneity is a core driver of infectious disease dynamics and has been widely explored in ecology and evolution. However, in human populations, social inequity remains underexplored as a source of heterogeneity despite having long been identified as a threat to global health and infectious disease control. In this work, we draw from established ecological frameworks such as metapopulation theory and classic resource consumption curves to explore the impact of sociodemographic disparities and host immune history on human coronavirus dynamics. First, we characterize national and subnational socioeconomic (SES) disparities in COVID-19 vaccination over time, and used transmission models to show that improving the speed and timing of vaccination for all groups has a greater impact on disease-related deaths than trying to resolve deeply entrenched disparities. Second, we explore the importance of incorporating known socioeconomic disparities into transmission models, comparing models with and without this stratification. We find that a model adapted to include SES-stratified parameters returns higher estimates of disease burden than its SES-agnostic counterpart. Third, we use transmission models to quantify the effect of SARS-CoV-2 bivalent booster formulations in populations with high pre-existing immunity, showing that booster implementation is more important than booster formulation. Fourth, we reimagine serocatalytic models for seasonal coronaviruses, finding that models capturing a gradient of serostatus always outperform binary classifications of seropositive and seronegative. These new models and theoretical frameworks can be leveraged in the future to gain insight into SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases. Finally, we analyze the impact of spatial connectivity of populations on respiratory disease dynamics in Illinois, finding that increasing community connectivity across vulnerable groups and promoting effective isolation of individuals during infection can reduce disparities and disease burden for all. Across the studies presented here, we found that the impact of host heterogeneity on disease dynamics was often counterintuitive, highlighting that developing a thorough understanding of social disparities and their consequences is crucial for disease control.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01","The student, Soren Larsen, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-13 at 19:29.","The student, Soren Larsen, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-13 at 19:39.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-15 at 16:54.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21666 on 2025-10-19 at 19:14:23"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Host heterogeneity and respiratory disease dynamics: From structural inequity to immune history"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Martinez, Pamela P","Cáceres, Carla E","Smith, Rebecca L","Kirkpatrick, Kay","Kraay, Alicia NM"],"dc:creator":["Larsen, Soren L."],"dc:date":["2025-04-15","2025-05"],"dc:description":["Host heterogeneity is a core driver of infectious disease dynamics and has been widely explored in ecology and evolution. However, in human populations, social inequity remains underexplored as a source of heterogeneity despite having long been identified as a threat to global health and infectious disease control. In this work, we draw from established ecological frameworks such as metapopulation theory and classic resource consumption curves to explore the impact of sociodemographic disparities and host immune history on human coronavirus dynamics. First, we characterize national and subnational socioeconomic (SES) disparities in COVID-19 vaccination over time, and used transmission models to show that improving the speed and timing of vaccination for all groups has a greater impact on disease-related deaths than trying to resolve deeply entrenched disparities. Second, we explore the importance of incorporating known socioeconomic disparities into transmission models, comparing models with and without this stratification. We find that a model adapted to include SES-stratified parameters returns higher estimates of disease burden than its SES-agnostic counterpart. Third, we use transmission models to quantify the effect of SARS-CoV-2 bivalent booster formulations in populations with high pre-existing immunity, showing that booster implementation is more important than booster formulation. Fourth, we reimagine serocatalytic models for seasonal coronaviruses, finding that models capturing a gradient of serostatus always outperform binary classifications of seropositive and seronegative. These new models and theoretical frameworks can be leveraged in the future to gain insight into SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases. Finally, we analyze the impact of spatial connectivity of populations on respiratory disease dynamics in Illinois, finding that increasing community connectivity across vulnerable groups and promoting effective isolation of individuals during infection can reduce disparities and disease burden for all. Across the studies presented here, we found that the impact of host heterogeneity on disease dynamics was often counterintuitive, highlighting that developing a thorough understanding of social disparities and their consequences is crucial for disease control.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-05-01","The student, Soren Larsen, accepted the attached license on 2025-04-13 at 19:29.","The student, Soren Larsen, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-04-13 at 19:39.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-04-15 at 16:54.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21666 on 2025-10-19 at 19:14:23"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129501"],"dc:language":["eng","en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Soren Larsen"],"dc:subject":["SARS-CoV-2","influenza","seasonal coronavirus","social disparities","infectious disease dynamics","mathematical modeling","SEIR","host heterogeneity"],"dc:title":["Host heterogeneity and respiratory disease dynamics: From structural inequity to immune history"],"dc:type":["Thesis","text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Ecol, Evol, Conservation Biol"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:05Z"}