Lulla Opatowski

Lulla Opatowski is professor in Mathematical Epidemiology (University of Versailles Saint Quentin – UVSQ / Inserm / Institut Pasteur).
Her main research deals with mathematical modelling of infectious disease and statistical inference, with a particular interest in bacterial resistance to antimicrobials (including antibiotics and vaccines) and host-pathogen-pathogen interactions.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, she as been working on models of SARS-COV-2 transmission both in he community and in health care settings. Notably, within the MOD-COV project, we study the risk of nosocomial transmission of the virus in patients and health care workers and interventions to minimize the risk.

Other main topics of research include:
- Modelling between-pathogen interactions within the respiratory tract, in particular interactions between Streptococcus pneumoniae and respiratory viruses.
- Building models to study the factors leading to the acquisition of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the development of gut microbiota.
- Analysis and modelling of antibiotic-resistant bacteria dissemination in health care settings and in the community. This includes both theoretical models and the analysis of strains transmission routes from detailed proximity contact data and colonisation of S. aureus and Enterobacteriaceae.
- Study of multi-strain models and impact of vaccination (application to pneumococcus and HPV)
- Modelling selection and persistence of antibiotic resistance genes in effluents or environments