Dr. Matthew Ferrari

Dr. Matthew Ferrari serves as Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Professor of Biology at The Pennsylvania State University, where he specializes in mathematical modeling of infectious disease transmission. His research focuses on understanding and predicting disease outbreaks through sophisticated statistical and computational methods. He is particularly known for his work on measles dynamics in developing countries, where he collaborates with Médecins Sans Frontières to study epidemic patterns and improve vaccination strategies in West African nations. His expertise spans multiple areas including disease transmission modeling, statistical methods for epidemiology, and the analysis of host-pathogen networks. As lead instructor for the Coursera course "Epidemics - the Dynamics of Infectious Diseases," he teaches students worldwide about disease transmission, vaccination impacts, and epidemic modeling. His research employs advanced computational methods such as Markov chain Monte Carlo to account for uncertainties in disease surveillance data, while developing practical solutions for public health challenges. His work has been particularly influential during the COVID-19 pandemic, where his expertise in epidemic modeling has contributed to public health response strategies.