Associate professor
Codirector, Dynamica Research Lab on the structure and the dynamics of complex systems
Board member, Centre Interdisciplinaire en Modélisation Mathématique de l’Université Laval (CIMMUL)
Associate researcher, CERVO Brain Research Centre
External faculty, Vermont Complex Systems Center (University of Vermont)
Département de physique, de génie physique et d'optique
Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon
1045 avenue de la Médecine
Université Laval
Québec (Québec) G1V 0A6, Canada
Networks and Space
Whether physical or abstract, space shapes the topology of many real complex networks. The collection Networks and Space explores the synergy between geometry and graph theory and is now open for submission! Several APC waivers are available; get in touch for details.
New papers in Network Science
Stay up-to-date with the literature broadly related to complex networks by subscribing to this semi-automatically curated list of new publications in Network Science on X, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, or by joining our mailing list. Click here for more details.News
2024.11.06 — The slides from my talk at the Theoretical Challenges in Network Science (TCNS2024) international workshop at the Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS) titled Simplicity meets complexity: Challenges in reproducing complex connectivity patterns with simple models are available here.
2024.09.30 — New manuscript on the arXiv: On the Uniform Sampling of the Configuration Model with Centrality Constraints.
2024.09.06 — New paper in Phys. Rev. E: Network compression with configuration models and the minimum description length.
2024.09.03 — The slides from my talk at the EPINEXT: Next-gen Methods for Data-Rich Epidemic Models satellite at the Conference on Complex Systems (CCS2024) titled Modeling Complex and Interacting Contagions with Approximate Master Equations are available here.
2024.08.04 — New manuscript on medRxiv: Optimization and performance analytics of global aircraft-based wastewater surveillance networks.
2024.07.31 — My Sentinelle Nord Research Chair on Applications and Theory of Network Analysis has come to its scheduled end. I want to thank Sentinelle Nord for this great opportunity that brought me back to my hometown and ensured the continuation of complex systems research at Université Laval's Physics Department. Here's to many more years of curiosity, creativity and fun!
2024.06.21 — I am honored to have been awarded the 2024 Erdős-Rényi Prize in Network Science by the Network Science Society. The slides from my lecture titled Simplicity meets complexity: Reproducing complex connectivity patterns with simple models can be found here.
2024.06.17 — New manuscript on the arXiv: Symmetry-driven embedding of networks in hyperbolic space.
2024.06.17 — We are proud to welcome the Network Science community in Québec for NetSci2024, this year's edition of the International School and Conference on Network Science. Vincent Thibeault, Zahra Yazdani, François Thibault, Simon Lizotte, Olivier Ribordy, Jérémi Lesage, Benjamin Claveau, Ilhem Bouderbala, Mariah Boudreau are presenting our latest results.
2024.06.05 — I am honored to have been awarded the Star Teacher prize (based on students evaluation) by the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
2024.05.25 — New paper in Nat. Commun.: Duality between predictability and reconstructability in complex systems.
2024.04.17 — New paper in npj Complex.: The path of complexity.
2024.04.12 — I am deeply honored to have been elected teacher of the year by the undergraduate Physics students.
2024.04.11 — I have been awarded a NSERC Discovery grant for the 2024–2030 period.
2024.02.14 — Our recent article The low-rank hypothesis of complex systems was featured on the cover of Nature Physics.
2024.01.18 — We were awarded the grant Soutien à l'organisation de congrès internationaux 2023 for the organization of NetSci 2024.
2024.01.12 — New paper in Netw. Neurosci.: NBS-SNI, an extension of the Network-based statistic: Abnormal functional connections between important structural actors.
2024.01.10 — New paper in Nat. Phys.: The low-rank hypothesis of complex systems.
2023.12.28 — New paper in PNAS: Nonlinear bias toward complex contagion in uncertain transmission settings.
2023.12.07 — New paper in BMC Global Public Health: The unintended consequences of inconsistent closure policies and mobility restrictions during epidemics.
2023.12.04 — New paper in Sci. Rep.: Hypergraph reconstruction from uncertain pairwise observations.
Research team
My Research Chair is part of the Dynamica Research Lab on Complex Systems that I lead alongside Patrick Desrosiers. I also co-supervise students or postdoctoral researchers affiliated with other research groups.
Dynamica Lab annual scientific symposium (Aug. 2024)
(back) Antoine A., Olivier R., François T., Antoine L., Arthur L., Patrick D., Vincent T., Jordan C.
(front) Félix O., Jérémi L., Benjamin C., Zahra Y., Simon L.
(absent) Azénor B., Gabriel B., Charles M.
Currently under my (co-)supervision
Gabriel Bergeron
PhD student
Simon Lizotte
PhD student
Olivier Ribordy
PhD student
François Thibault
PhD student
Zahra Yazdani
PhD student
Jérémi Lesage
MSc student
Benjamin Claveau
MSc student
Félix Olivier
Summer 2025
Former members
Publications
Listed in inverse chronological order; equal contributions are denoted by *.
Most of the publications below can also be found on arXiv or on Google Scholar.
Submitted manuscripts and preprints
On the Uniform Sampling of the Configuration Model with Centrality Constraints
F. Thibault, L. Hébert-Dufresne and A. Allard
arXiv
Optimization and performance analytics of global aircraft-based wastewater surveillance networks
G. St-Onge, J. T. Davis, L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, A. Urbinati, S. V. Scarpino, M. Chinazzi and A. Vespignani
medRxiv
Symmetry-driven embedding of networks in hyperbolic space
S. Lizotte, J.-G. Young and A. Allard
arXiv
A probabilistic methodology to reconstruct biodiversity from implicit interactions with indicator species along latitudinal co-occurrence networks
I. Bouderbala, J. A. Tremblay, D. Fortin, A. Allard and P. Desrosiers
bioRxiv
Modeling critical connectivity constraints in random and empirical networks
L. Hébert-Dufresne, M. Pósfai and A. Allard
arXiv
The network epidemiology of an Ebola epidemic
L. Hébert-Dufresne, J.-G. Young, J. Bedson, L. A. Skrip, D. Pedi, M. F. Jalloh, B. Raulier, O. Lapointe-Gagné, A. Jambai, A. Allard and B. M. Althouse
arXiv
On the accuracy of message-passing approaches to percolation in complex networks
A. Allard and L. Hébert-Dufresne
arXiv
2020–present
Firing rate distributions in plastic networks of spiking neurons
M. Vegué, A. Allard and P. Desrosiers
To appear in Network Neuroscience
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arXiv
Network compression with configuration models and the minimum description length
L. Hébert-Dufresne, J.-G. Young, A. Daniels, A. Kirkley and A. Allard
Physical Review E 110, 034305 (2024)
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arXiv
Duality between predictability and reconstructability in complex systems
C. Murphy, V. Thibeault, A. Allard and P. Desrosiers
Nature Communications 15, 4478 (2024)
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arXiv
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Code
The path of complexity
L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, J. Garland, E. A. Hobson and L. Zaman
npj Complexity 1, 4 (2024)
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Escherichia coli CRISPR arrays from early life fecal samples preferentially target prophages
M. B. Dion, S. A. Shah, L. Deng, J. Thorsen, J. Stokholm, K. A. Krogfelt, S. Schjørring, P. Horvath, A. Allard, D. S. Nielsen, M.-A. Petit and S. Moineau
The ISME Journal 18, wrae005 (2024)
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NBS-SNI, an extension of the Network-based statistic: Abnormal functional connections between important structural actors
F. Normand, M. Gajwani, D. C. Côté and A. Allard
Network Neuroscience 8, 44-80 (2024)
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bioRxiv
The low-rank hypothesis of complex systems
V. Thibeault, A. Allard and P. Desrosiers
Nature Physics 20, 294–302 (2024)
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arXiv
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Code
★ Nat. Phys. News & Views
★ Cover image of Nat. Phys.
Geometric description of clustering in directed networks
A. Allard, M. Á. Serrano and M. Boguñá
Nature Physics 20, 150–156 (2024)
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arXiv
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Code
The umbrella value of caribou management strategies for biodiversity conservation in boreal forests under global change
G. Labadie, I. Bouderbala, Y. Boulanger, J.-M. Béland, C. Hébert, A. Allard, M. Hebblewhite and D. Fortin
Science of the Total Environment 907, 168087 (2024)
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Nonlinear bias toward complex contagion in uncertain transmission settings
G. St-Onge, L. Hébert-Dufresne and A. Allard
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 121, e2312202121 (2023)
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arXiv
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Code
The unintended consequences of inconsistent closure policies and mobility restrictions during epidemics
B. M. Althouse, B. Wallace, B. Case, S. V. Scarpino, A. Allard, A. M. Berdahl, E. R. White and L. Hébert-Dufresne
BMC Global and Public Health 1, 28 (2023)
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medRxiv
Hypergraph reconstruction from uncertain pairwise observations
S. Lizotte, J.-G. Young and A. Allard
Scientific Reports 13, 21364 (2023)
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arXiv
The D-Mercator method for the multidimensional hyperbolic embedding of real networks
R. Jankowski, A. Allard, M. Boguñá and M. Á. Serrano
Nature Communications 14, 7585 (2023)
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arXiv
★ Nature communications’ Editors’ Highlights
Temporal and probabilistic forecasts of epidemic interventions
M. C. Boudreau, A. J. Allen, N. J. Roberts, A. Allard and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 85, 118 (2023)
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arXiv
Hierarchical team structure and multidimensional localization (or siloing) on networks
L. Hébert-Dufresne, G. St-Onge, J. Meluso, J. P. Bagrow and A. Allard
Journal of Physics: Complexity 4, 035002 (2023)
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arXiv
Exact and rapid linear clustering of networks with dynamic programming
A. Patania, A. Allard and J.-G. Young
Proceedings of the Royal Society A 479, 20230159 (2023)
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arXiv
Dimension reduction of dynamics on modular and heterogeneous directed networks
M. Vegué, V. Thibeault, P. Desrosiers and A. Allard
PNAS Nexus 2, pgad150 (2023)
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arXiv
Dimension matters when modeling network communities in hyperbolic spaces
B. Désy, P. Desrosiers and A. Allard
PNAS Nexus 2, pgad136 (2023)
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arXiv
Effects of global change on bird and beetle populations in boreal forest landscape: An assemblage dissimilarity analysis
I. Bouderbala, G. Labadie, J.-M. Leblanc, Y. Boulanger, C. Hébert, P. Desrosiers, A. Allard and D. Fortin
Diversity and Distributions 29, 757-773 (2023)
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bioRxiv
The role of directionality, heterogeneity and correlations in epidemic risk and spread
A. Allard, C. Moore, S. V. Scarpino, B. M. Althouse and L. Hébert-Dufresne
SIAM Review 65, 471-492 (2023)
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arXiv
Long-term effect of forest harvesting on boreal species assemblages under climate change
I. Bouderbala, G. Labadie, J.-M. Leblanc, J. A. Tremblay, Y. Boulanger, C. Hébert, P. Desrosiers, A. Allard and D. Fortin
PLOS Climate 2, e0000179 (2023)
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bioRxiv
Limits of Individual Consent and Models of Distributed Consent in Online Social Networks
J. Lovato, A. Allard, R. Harp, J. Onaolapo and L. Hébert-Dufresne
FAccT'22: 2022 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency 2251–2262 (2022)
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arXiv
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code
Predicting the diversity of early epidemic spread on networks
A. J. Allen, M. C. Boudreau, N. J. Roberts, A. Allard and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Physical Review Research 4, 013123 (2022)
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arXiv
Influential groups for seeding and sustaining nonlinear contagion in heterogeneous hypergraphs
G. St-Onge, I. Iacopini, V. Latora, A. Barrat, G. Petri, A. Allard and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Communications Physics 5, 25 (2022)
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arXiv
Universal Nonlinear Infection Kernel from Heterogeneous Exposure on Higher-Order Networks
G. St-Onge, H. Sun, A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne and G. Bianconi
Physical Review Letters 127, 158301 (2021)
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arXiv
Deep learning of contagion dynamics on complex networks
C. Murphy, E. Laurence and A. Allard
Nature Communications 12, 4720 (2021)
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arXiv
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code
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data
★ Nature communications’ Editors’ Highlights
Social confinement and mesoscopic localization of epidemics on networks
G. St-Onge, V. Thibeault, A. Allard, L. J. Dubé and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Physical Review Letters 126, 098301 (2021)
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arXiv
Master equation analysis of mesoscopic localization in contagion dynamics on higher-order networks
G. St-Onge, V. Thibeault, A. Allard, L. J. Dubé and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Physical Review E 103, 032301 (2021)
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arXiv
La modélisation mathématique pour cartographier le complexe et l'inconnu
(Mapping the complex and the unknown with mathematical modeling)
A. Allard, L. J. Dubé and L. Hébert-Dufresne
ACFAS Magazine (2020)
Superspreading events in the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2: Opportunities for interventions and control
B. M. Althouse, E. A. Wenger, J. C. Miller, S. V. Scarpino, A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne and H. Hu
PLOS Biology 18, e3000897 (2020)
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arXiv
Beyond R0: heterogeneity in secondary infections and probabilistic epidemic forecasting
L. Hébert-Dufresne, B. M. Althouse, S. V. Scarpino and A. Allard
Journal of the Royal Society Interface 17, 20200393 (2020)
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arXiv
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medRxiv
Geometric renormalization unravels self-similarity of the multiscale human connectome
M. Zheng, A. Allard, P. Hagmann, Y. Alemán-Gómez and M. Á. Serrano
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 117, 20244 (2020)
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arXiv
COVID-19: Cancel your next large event, and tell your friends to cancel theirs
G. St-Onge, V. Thibeault, A. Allard, L. J. Dubé and L. Hébert-Dufresne
medium.com
Genome-scale modeling of metabolism in the polar diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus underscores the strong robustness of growth rate in response to cellular perturbations
M. Lavoie, B. Saint-Béat, J. Strauss, S. Guérin, A. Allard, S. V. Hardy, A. Falciatore and J. Lavaud
Biology 9, 30 (2020)
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Navigable maps of structural brain networks across species
A. Allard and M. Á. Serrano
PLOS Computational Biology 16, e1007584 (2020)
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arXiv
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2010–2019
Mercator: uncovering faithful hyperbolic embeddings of complex networks
G. García-Pérez*, A. Allard*, M. Á. Serrano and M. Boguñá
New Journal of Physics 21, 123033 (2019)
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arXiv
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code
Smeared phase transition of percolation on real complex networks
L. Hébert-Dufresne and A. Allard
Physical Review Research 1, 013009 (2019)
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arXiv
Percolation and the effective structure of complex networks
A. Allard and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Physical Review X 9, 011023 (2019)
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arXiv
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code
A new approach to international trade from Network Geometry: The World Trade Atlas 1870-2013
G. García-Pérez, M. Boguñá, A. Allard, and M. Á. Serrano
S. Gorgoni, A. Amighini, and M. Smith (Eds.), Vernon Press, ISBN 978-1622730650
Table of contents
Geometric evolution of complex networks with degree correlations
C. Murphy, A. Allard, E. Laurence, G. St-Onge and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 97, 032309 (2018)
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arXiv
The risk of sustained sexual transmission of Zika is underestimated
A. Allard*, B. M. Althouse*, L. Hébert-Dufresne* and S. V. Scarpino*
PLOS Pathogens 13, e1006633 (2017)
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bioRxiv
Asymmetric percolation drives a double transition in sexual contact networks
A. Allard, B. M. Althouse, S. V. Scarpino and L. Hébert-Dufresne
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 114, 8969-8973 (2017)
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arXiv
Strategic tradeoffs in competitor dynamics on adaptive networks
L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, P.-A. Noël, J.-G. Young and E. Libby
Scientific Reports 7, 7576 (2017)
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arXiv
The geometric nature of weights in real complex networks
A. Allard, M. Á. Serrano, G. García-Pérez and M. Boguñá
Nature Communications 8, 14103 (2017)
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arXiv
★ Nat. Phys. Research Highlights
★ Nature Communications' web collection on complex systems
Growing networks of overlapping communities with internal structure
J.-G. Young, L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 94, 022317 (2016)
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arXiv
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Multi-scale structure and topological anomaly detection via a new network statistic: The onion decomposition
L. Hébert-Dufresne, J. A. Grochow, and A. Allard
Scientific Reports 6, 31708 (2016)
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arXiv
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The effect of a prudent adaptive behaviour on disease transmission
S. V. Scarpino, A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne
Nature Physics 12, 1042-1046 (2016)
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arXiv
★ Nat. Phys. News & Views
Constrained growth of complex scale-independent systems
L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, J.-G. Young, and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 93, 032304 (2016)
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arXiv
★ In the Editors' Suggestions section of Physical Review E.
The hidden hyperbolic geometry of international trade: World Trade Atlas 1870-2013
G. García-Pérez, M. Boguñá, A. Allard, and M. Á. Serrano
Scientific Reports 6, 33441 (2016)
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arXiv
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Interactive map
★ Featured in the section Economía of the newspaper El Periódico.
Complex networks as an emerging property of hierarchical preferential attachment
L. Hébert-Dufresne, E. Laurence, A. Allard, J.-G. Young and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 92, 062809 (2015)
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arXiv
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code
General and exact approach to percolation on random graphs
A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne, J.-G. Young and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 92, 062807 (2015)
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arXiv
A shadowing problem in the detection of overlapping communities: lifting the resolution limit through a cascading procedure
J.-G. Young, A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne and L. J. Dubé
PLOS ONE 10, e0140133 (2015)
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arXiv
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The Social Zombie: Modelling undead outbreaks on social networks
L. Hébert-Dufresne, V. Marceau, P.-A. Noël, A. Allard, and L. J. Dubé
Robert Smith? (Ed.), University of Ottawa Press, ISBN 978-0776622101
Table of contents
Spreading dynamics on complex networks: a general stochastic approach
P.-A. Noël, A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne, V. Marceau and L. J. Dubé
Journal of Mathematical Biology 69, 1627 (2014)
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arXiv
A system-level model for the microbial regulatory genome
A. N. Brooks, D. J. Reiss, A. Allard, W.-J. Wu, D. M. Salvanha, C. L. Plaisier, S. Chandrasekaran, M. Pan, A. Kaur and N. S. Baliga
Molecular Systems Biology 10, 740 (2014)
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Coexistence of phases and the observability of random graphs
A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne, J.-G. Young and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 89, 022801 (2014)
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arXiv
★ In the Editors' Suggestions section of Physical Review E.
Percolation sur graphes aléatoires: Modélisation et description analytique
(Percolation on random graphs: Modelling and analytical description)
Ph.D. Thesis, Université Laval (2014)
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Percolation on random networks with arbitrary k-core structure
L. Hébert-Dufresne*, A. Allard*, J.-G. Young and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 88, 062820 (2013)
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arXiv
Global efficiency of local immunization of complex networks
L. Hébert-Dufresne*, A. Allard*, J.-G. Young* and L. J. Dubé
Scientific Reports 3, 2171 (2013)
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arXiv
Bond percolation on a class of correlated and clustered random graphs
A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne, P.-A. Noël, V. Marceau and L. J. Dubé
Journal of Physics A 45, 405005 (2012)
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arXiv
Exact solution of bond percolation on small arbitrary graphs
A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne, P.-A. Noël, V. Marceau and L. J. Dubé
Europhysics Letters (EPL) 98, 16001 (2012)
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arXiv
Propagation on networks: An exact alternative perspective
P.-A. Noël, A. Allard, L. Hébert-Dufresne, V. Marceau and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 85, 031118 (2012)
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arXiv
Structural preferential attachment: Stochastic process for the growth of scale-free, modular and self-similar systems
L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, V. Marceau, P.-A. Noël and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 85, 026108 (2012)
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arXiv
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Structural Preferential Attachment: Network Organization beyond the Link
L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard, V. Marceau, P.-A. Noël and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review Letters 107, 158702 (2011)
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arXiv
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code
Modeling the dynamical interaction between epidemics on overlay networks
V. Marceau, P.-A. Noël, L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 84, 026105 (2011)
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arXiv
Propagation dynamics on networks featuring complex topologies
L. Hébert-Dufresne, P.-A. Noël, V. Marceau, A. Allard and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 82, 036115 (2010)
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arXiv
★ Also in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research, issue 7, vol. 20 (2010)
Adaptive networks: Coevolution of disease and topology
V. Marceau, P.-A. Noël, L. Hébert-Dufresne, A. Allard and L. J. Dubé
Physical Review E 82, 036116 (2010)
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arXiv
★ Also in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research, issue 7, vol. 20 (2010)
2008–2009
Heterogeneous Bond Percolation on Multitype Networks with an Application to Epidemic Dynamics
A. Allard, P.-A. Noël, L. J. Dubé and B. Pourbohloul
Physical Review E 79, 036113 (2009)
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arXiv
★ Also in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research, issue 7, vol. 17 (2009)
Des Ponts d'Euler à la Grippe Aviaire: De l'abstraction mathématique à la réalité sociale des épidémies
(From Euler Bridges to the Avian Flu: From Mathematical Abstraction to the Social Reality of Epidemics)
A. Allard, P.-A. Noël, and L. J. Dubé
Accromath 4, 24-29 (2009)
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Modélisation Mathématique en Epidémiologie par Réseaux de Contacts: Introduction de l'Hétérogénéité dans la Transmissibilité
(Mathematical Modelling in Contact Networks for Epidemiology: Introduction of Heterogenity in Transmissibility)
M.Sc. Thesis, Université Laval (2008)
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