Marcus Marshall

Profile

I am a Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Leeds, completing a PhD in modelling nosocomial transmission of infectious pathogens as part of the international project: Modelling reassortment at the cellular, clinical, and phylogenetic level in emerging Bunyaviruses. I obtained my first class Master’s degree in Mathematics at the University of Leeds in 2022, having studied various applied mathematical topics, including Mathematical Biology and Evolutionary modelling which had sparked my interest in epidemic modelling. My project aims to develop various types of epidemic models, including compartmental and Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) models, incorporating stochasticity and uncertainty.

During my years as a PGR, I have had the pleasure of being part of the Mathematical Biology group, which gave me the opportunity to connect with like-minded students and learn from experts in my field. Furthermore, I have since collaborated with researchers from multiple disciplines which has helped me to articulate my work to wider audiences and broaden my own knowledge in other research areas.

Research interests

My research interests include

• Modelling a variety of transmission routes for infectious pathogens, with an emphasis on small-scale populations and the associated stochastic dynamics.
• Investigating the effects of patient and staff cohorting on outbreak dynamics within hospital settings.
• Incoporating population heterogeneity and environmental uncertainty into infection risk assessment of airborne transmissible pathogens.
• Assessing how human behaviour during indoor interactions can affect infection risk.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Mathematics, MMath (first class)