Mathematical Methods in Immunology (Courant Lecture Notes) (Courant Lecture Notes in Mathematics)

Any organism, to survive, must use a variety of defense mechanisms. A relatively recent evolutionary development is that of the adaptive immune system, carried to a quite sophisticated level by mammals. The complexity of this system calls for its encapsulation by mathematical models, and this book aims at the associated description and analysis. In the process, it introduces tools that should be in the armory of any current or aspiring applied mathematician, in the context of, arguably, the most effective system nature has devised to protect an organism from its manifold invisible enemies. Titles in this series are co-published with the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.