Dr. Ericka Mochan is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Data Analytics, as well as the Chair of the Department of Computational and Chemical Sciences at Carlow University. This department includes majors and programs in computer science, chemistry, physics, data analytics, mathematics, and quantitative reasoning. Ericka is also a co-director of the C-STEM Scholars Student Learning Community, federally funded by an NSF S-STEM grant, which provides scholarships and additional academic supports to STEM majors at Carlow University.

Ericka earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Western New England University in 2011 and a PhD in Computational Biology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2016. Her primary teaching responsibilities are in mathematics, data science, and computer science. She currently teaches courses such as Calculus I, Applied Calculus, Differential Equations, Programming for Everyone I, Data Visualization, Physics II, and Introduction to Data Analytics. As a scholar-practitioner in applied mathematics and applications of data analytics, Ericka’s courses include many real-world examples of the applications of mathematics to a variety of fields, including public health, sports, criminal justice, epidemiology, biology, and chemistry. In 2023, Ericka received the Max and Esther Sestili Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Ericka’s scholarly research focuses on mathematical modeling of the immune response to influenza, bacterial pneumonia, and coronavirus infections. She has published over twenty peer-reviewed articles in mathematical biology which have been cited over 200 times. Ericka continues to maintain an active research agenda, including current work in studying the effects of co-infection of influenza and pneumonia within the lung environment, in conjunction with colleagues at University of Florida. In 2020, Ericka received the Dorothy Weber Cochran Award for Faculty Scholarship and Research, as well as the Presidential Fund for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity.

Ericka continues to be devoted to the future of young women in STEM.

Education 

• PhD – Computational Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• BS – Biomedical Engineering, Western New England University, Springfield, MA

Research

Interests: In-host immune response; mathematical modeling; influenza A virus; bacterial pneumonia; coronavirus; co-infection dynamics

• National Science Foundation grant, “Supporting Undergraduate STEM Graduation and Career Pathways Through Student and Faculty Learning Communities,” Carlow University Celtic STEM Initiative, 2021

Publications

• Mochan, E., Sego, TJ. “Mathematical Modeling of the Lethal Synergism of Coinfecting Pathogens in Respiratory Viral Infections: A Review”, MDPI Microorganisms, 2023.
• Mochan, E., Sego, TJ, Ermentrout, GB. “Age-related changes to the immune system exacerbate the inflammatory response to pandemic H1N1 infection”, Bull Math Bio, 2022.
• Mochan, E., Sego, TJ, Gaona, L, Rial, E, Ermentrout, GB. “Compartmental model suggests importance of innate immune response to COVID-19 infection in rhesus macaques”, Bull Math Bio, 2021.
• Sego, TJ, Mochan, E., Ermentrout, GB, Glazier, JA. “A Multiscale Multicellular Spatiotemporal Model of Local Influenza Infection and Immune Response”, J Theor Biol. 2021.
• Wang, M, Noh, H, Mochan, E, Shoemaker, JE. “TREAP: A New Topological Approach to Drug Target Inference”, Biophysical Journal, 2020.
• Ackerman, E, Mochan, E, Shoemaker, JE. “Strain Specific Immune Responses to Influenza Virus Infection”, IFAC 52:26, 101-106, 2019.
• Ackerman, E, Mochan E, Shoemaker JE. Strain-specific inflammatory and immune response to influenza virus infection. 8th IFAC Conference on Foundations of Systems Biology in Engineering (FOSBE 2019), 2019.
• Mochan E, Ackerman E, Shoemaker JE. A systems and treatment perspective of models of influenza virus-induced host responses. MDPI Processes, 2018.
• Shoemaker JE, Ackerman E, Mochan E. Lung immunodynamics during pH1N1 influenza virus infection. Proceedings of the 2018 AIChE Annual Meeting, Computing and Systems Technology Division, 2018.
• Keef E, Zhang LA, Swigon D, Urbano A, Ermentrout GB, Matuszewski M, Toapanta FR, Ross TM, Parker RS, Clermont G. Discrete dynamical modeling of influenza infection suggests age-dependent differences in immunity. J Virol, 2017; 00395-17.
• Keef E. Interactions between the immune system, influenza A virus, and bacterial pneumonia. Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, 2016.
• Mochan-Keef E, Swigon D, Ermentrout GB, Clermont G. A Three-Tiered Study of Differences in Murine Intrahost Immune Response to Multiple Pneumococcal Strains. PLoS One. 2015;10: e0134012.
• Price I, Mochan-Keef E, Swigon D, Ermentrout GB, Lukens S, Toapanta FR, et al. The inflammatory response to influenza A virus (H1N1): An experimental and mathematical study. J Theor Biol. 2015;374: 83–93. [co-first authorship]
• Zhu L, Clermont G, Zhang LA, Mochan E, Parker R, Swigon D, Pike F. Using biomarkers to enhance 60-day in hospital mortality prediction for early sepsis patient. Crit Care Med. 2015; 43(12): 249.
• Zhu L, Pike F, Zhang LA, Parker RS, Mochan E, Swigon D, Clermont G. Sepsis endotypes defined by cytokine trajectory analysis. ESICM LIVES, 2015.
• Lukens S, DePasse J, Rosenfeld R, Ghedin E, Mochan E, Brown ST, Grefenstette J, Burke DS, Swigon D, Clermont G. A large-scale immuno-epidemiological simulation of influenza A epidemics. BMC Pub Health. 2014; 14:1019.
• Mochan E, Swigon D, Ermentrout GB, Lukens S, Clermont G. A mathematical model of intrahost pneumococcal pneumonia infection dynamics in murine strains. J Theor Biol. 2014;353: 44–54.

Awards & Recognition

• Max and Esther Sestili Award for Excellence in Teaching (2023)
• Dorothy Weber Cochran Award for Faculty Scholarship, Carlow University (2020)
• Presidential Fund for Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity (2020)