Research Projects

The ongoing pandemic due to the spread of the viral infection, COVID-19, calls into focus a renewed look into modelling of viral dynamics. Systems biology-based models have, in the past, been successful in modelling the HIV and T-lymphocyte dynamics. Therefore, it is pertinent to develop models specific to the in-host spread of SARS-CoV-2 by building upon past successful studies. Through this proposal, a mathematical model is developed to explain the dynamics of the virus and the susceptible and infected cells in addition to the effect of any retroviral drug or immunotherapy procedures. One of the unique features of this virus is the long incubation period followed by a long replication period, which totals to around 14-21 days. Here, the heterogeneities in the rates of viral infection will be introduced using a memory kernel, which in turn is related to the noise through the fluctuation dissipation theorem. The model will be compared to RT-PCR data of nasal or throat swabs that reveal the temporal dynamics of viral load per mL of cell. Therefore, the model will not only be used to check for its validity and future applications but also propose new dynamics under inhibitory conditions that arise due to drug action.

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