Md Rafiul Islam

Md Rafiul Islam serves as an Assistant Professor of Data Science in the Mathematics Department at the University of the Incarnate Word since 2022, following a postdoctoral position at Iowa State University. His research bridges mathematical modeling with critical public health challenges, particularly in infectious disease dynamics and vaccine strategy optimization.

His academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Texas Tech University (2020)
• M.S. in Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University (2015)
• M.S. in Applied Mathematics, University of Dhaka (2012)
• B.S. in Mathematics, University of Dhaka (2010)

Dr. Islam's work centers on epidemiological modeling of pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 and chronic wasting disease, utilizing machine learning and social network analysis to evaluate vaccine allocation strategies. His autonomous vehicle research applies physics-based models to driver behavior, demonstrating interdisciplinary expertise spanning public health and transportation engineering. Current projects integrate mutation landscapes of viral variants with case-dependent vaccination rates for epidemic forecasting.

His publication record (2017-2022) reveals three core thematic clusters: 40% focus on COVID-19 modeling (vaccine allocation, variant dynamics), 30% on wildlife disease transmission (chronic wasting disease, fungal pathogens), and 30% on transportation systems (driver behavior modeling for autonomous vehicles). This trajectory shows increasing emphasis on real-world policy applications, particularly in resource-limited settings like refugee camps.

As an educator, he teaches Introduction to Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra, and Introduction to Data Science while serving as Associate Guest Editor for Frontiers in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and reviewing for journals including PLOS ONE and Journal of the Royal Society Interface. His community service philosophy emphasizes collaborative problem-solving for global health challenges.