Team

Woldegeriel Assefa Woldegerima

Director of the DIMMS Lab
Assistant Professor in the Professional stream
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University

Prof. Woldegerima leads the DIMMS Lab with expertise in mathematical biology, disease modeling, and computational epidemiology. His research focuses on developing innovative mathematical frameworks for understanding complex disease dynamics.

Contact: wassefaw@yorku.ca
Office: S614 Ross Building
Phone: +1 (416) 736 2100 ext. 22889

Dr. Qi Deng

Postdoctoral Researcher

Topic: Modeling sexually transmitted diseases and theoretical immunology

Qi Deng is currently a postdoc working on modeling sexually transmitted diseases and theoretical immunology. Her main interests and recent works include data-driven mathematical modeling, agent-based models, and deep learning.

Dr. Andrew Omame

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Andrew Omame is a motivated, goal-driven individual with a strong passion for teaching, research and development. He obtained his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria in 2020. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences Lahore, Pakistan from 2021 to 2023.

His research areas include mathematical biology, nonlinear dynamical systems and applied mathematics in general. His research interests focus on the design and analysis of robust mathematical models for public health, policy and for wider industrial applications.

He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow under the supervision of Prof. W. A. Woldegerima at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University Canada.

Dr. Chigozie Louisa Jane Ugwu

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Chigozie Louisa Jane Ugwu completed her Doctorate in Statistics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa (UKZN) in 2021, under the guidance of Professor Temesgen Zewotir. Currently, she holds the position of a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at York University, with direct supervision from Professor Woldegebriel Assefa Woldegerima.

Her primary research areas center around infectious disease modeling and spatial epidemiology. Dr. Ugwu's research is dedicated to utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates mathematical, statistical, geospatial, and machine-learning techniques. Her focus is on modeling, predicting, and assessing the risk associated with monkeypox (mpox) and other (re)emerging zoonotic threats. Through her work, she aims to provide valuable insights and data-driven information that can inform decision-making processes and guide public health actions.

Farah Al Hashimi

PhD Candidate in Applied Mathematics

Farah is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at York University. She received her Bachelor of Science with Honors in Mathematics from the University of Al-Qadisiyah, Iraq, in 2010, and her Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Miami University, Ohio, in 2019.

Her research interests include mathematical modeling and stochastic optimization in epidemiology, with a particular focus on vaccination strategy optimization, infectious disease dynamics, and public health policy planning.

Atiqa Naeem Alam Din

PhD Student in Applied Mathematics, Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant

Atiqa earned her Master of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Bahrain (2019) and Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in physics from the University of Bahrain (2015).

Her research interests include Disease Modeling, ODEs, and Neural Networks. In her current projects, she is using Artificial Neural Networks to study disease spread and epidemiology. With a strong background in pure mathematics, Atiqa is also interested in the theoretical understanding of Deep Learning and Model building.

Outside academia, she enjoys nature.

Joe Tran

PhD Student in Applied Mathematics

Joe is a doctoral student pursuing a PhD in Applied Mathematics at York University. He previously completed his Master of Arts in Pure Mathematics at York University, and has successfully transitioned his focus toward applied mathematical research.

His research interests focus on mathematical modeling and computational approaches to understanding complex systems in epidemiology and public health.

Joe achieved first authorship on a publication in Chaos, Solitons & Fractals (2025), marking an important milestone early in his academic career.

Tue Dao

MA Student

Tue is a Master's student researching how the immune system interacts with the dengue virus using mathematical models to better understand disease dynamics. Her research interests focus on mathematical modelling of infectious diseases and immune response.

Manav Pundir

Third-year Psychology undergraduate student

Manav's research interests include human and microbolomic immunodynamics and mathematical modelling.

Chu Chu

Fourth-year Pure Mathematics undergraduate student

Chu Chu's research interests include algebraic number theory, partial differential equations (PDEs), and graph theory. She brings a strong mathematical foundation to the lab's research projects.

Duc Anh Khue Bui (Andrew Jr)

Undergraduate Researcher

Khue is currently working on a project that focuses on modeling the interaction between parasite evasion and the immune system using ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial differential equations (PDEs). This project represents the intersection of his passion for solving complex differential equations and applying them to real-world biological problems. He is deeply committed to understanding the dynamics of biological systems through mathematical modeling and is eager to further pursue this interest in advanced studies. With this in mind, he plans to continue in a Master's and PhD program, where he can deepen his knowledge and make meaningful contributions to the field of applied mathematics.