Modeling population dynamics has been one of the most effective ways to quantitatively approach prediction in biological systems (specially in virus dynamics). In particular, ordinary differential equations have been widely studied to accommodate to different biological setups. However, there are some scenarios where such modelling approach cannot capture the main ingredients of the system. Specifically, when the populations are small or in the proximity of a bifurcation point (for instance close to the epidemic threshold or close to extinction) the fluctuations are large and specific stochastic modelling is required. In this tutorial session participants will be introduced to basic concepts in stochastic methods, both analytical and numerical, and focus on two case studies in which this sort of modelling approach provides different answers than ordinary differential equations.
