In the 14th episode of our series on science, policy and pandemics, we're talking about vaccines and immunology.  Throughout this episode, our host Rob Doubleday is joined by Dr Caroline Trotter, Dr Estee Torok, and Dr Flavio Toxvaerd. They explore our current understanding of the immunology and of vaccines under development; challenges involved in vaccine distribution, and insights we’ve gained about innovation and knowledge exchange throughout the vaccine development process.  CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Our guests this week: Dr Caroline Trotter is an epidemiologist and a Principal Research Associate, Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge. She is also the Academic Director Cambridge Africa in the Department of Pathology, and is an Honorary Epidemiologist at Public Health England. Dr Estee Torok is a Consultant in Infectious Diseases at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge and a researcher at Cambridge's Department of Medicine. Her research focuses on translating microbial genomics into clinical practice. She is presently working with the NHS Trusts in Cambridgeshire as part of the COV002 vaccine trial which has been developed by the University of Oxford. Dr Flavio Toxvaerd is a university lecturer at the University of Cambridge, where he specialises in microeconomic theory. He has recently been working on the covid-19 response, including through work on the global impact of coronavirus, and on the economics of how search and matching models can be useful for understanding economic and virological aspects of the coronavirus epidemic. -- CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you would like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk.

In the thirteenth episode of our series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday and guest host Salma Shah speak with Dr Shaun Fitzgerald and Mats Persson about the science, policy and decision-making surrounding easing lockdown restrictions. Throughout this episode, we hear perspectives from an engineer, a policy advisor, and an economist on how their areas of work can help inform decision-making at this critical point in the covid-19 response. We will also explore how government can improve its use of science in this context.  CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Our guests this week: Salma Shah was Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, from 2018-19. She was responsible for strategy and communication across the Department. She has served in Government since May 2014, in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Prior to this, Salma was a journalist at the BBC, producing the Today programme on Radio 4. Dr Shaun Fitzgerald is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University, Dr Fitzgerald is also the CEO of Breathing Buildings Ltd, a leading technology company pioneering hybrid ventilation systems.  Mats Persson specializes in strategy, transactions, economics and trade. He has previously worked as a Special Advisor to former Prime Minister David Cameron, as a Special Advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Research Director at Open Europe, and as Head of International Trade (Brexit) for Ernst & Young. -- CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you would like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk.

What have we learned about the epidemiology of covid-19 since the onset of the UK’s lockdown? In the twelfth episode of our special series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday welcomes back Professor James Wood and mathematician Professor Julia Gog. Professor Wood and Professor Gog spoke to us in episode one of our series about the state of our understanding of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Three months later, they are back share an update on what they have learned since, how the situation has evolved, and what they think the future of the pandemic response might look like. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Our guests this week: Professor Julia Gog is a British mathematician, David N. Moore Fellow and Director of Studies in Mathematics at Queens' College, Cambridge and Professor of mathematical biology in the University of Cambridge Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. She is also a member of the Cambridge Immunology Network and the Cambridge Infectious Diseases Interdisciplinary Research Centre. She is a member of SPI-M. Professor James Wood is Head of Department of Veterinary Medicine and  Alborada Professor of Equine and Farm Animal Science. He is a veterinary epidemiologist who specializes in emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases, with a focus on bat transmitted viruses in sub-Saharan Africa and bovine tuberculosis. -- CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you would like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk.

The role of scientific advisers to government is under the spotlight as never before. It is easy enough to talk of “speaking truth to power” – but as governments’ efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic demonstrate – the science is often evolving and uncertain. At a time when politicians are relying on scientists not only to inform decisions but also as trusted communicators – what is the nature of the authority and power of science advisers? In this week’s episode of Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday and guest host Salma Shah explore how the relationship between scientists and policymakers works in practice. With guests Lord Alistair Darling and Professor Frank Kelly, they discuss how ministers and their scientific advisers can build relationships based on trust, and how the nature of decisions, the personalities of the people involved, and the wider political context can shape those vital relationships. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network.  Our guests this week: Salma Shah was Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, from 2018-19. She was responsible for strategy and communication across the Department. She has served in Government since May 2014, in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Prior to this, Salma was a journalist at the BBC, producing the Today programme on Radio 4. The Rt Hon. Lord Alistair Darling, Baron of Roulanish is a Labour Life peer, and he previously served as a Member of Parliament from 1987 until 2015. He served continuously in the Labour government’s cabinet from 1997 to 2010, in posts including Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Transport, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Professor Frank Kelly is a Professor of the Mathematics of Systems at Statistical Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. His main research interests are in random processes, networks and optimization. From 2003 to 2006 he served as Chief Scientific Adviser to the United Kingdom's Department for Transport. -- CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you would like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk.

What role does evidence play when the stakes are high, decisions are urgent, and the science is not settled? In this week’s episode of Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday and guest host Salma Shah explore the principles and practice of decision making in Government. With guests Jeremy Hunt MP and Professor Dame Sally Davies, we explore real life examples of tackling massive public health challenges. We address health emergencies including Ebola, Novichock and childhood obesity. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network.  Our guests this week: Salma Shah was Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, from 2018-19. She was responsible for strategy and communication across the Department. She has served in Government since May 2014, in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Prior to this, Salma was a journalist at the BBC, producing the Today programme on Radio 4. Professor Dame Sally Davies became Master of Trinity College in October 2019. Previously, Dame Sally was the Chief Medical Officer for England. Professor Davies also chairs the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, and is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Health Research; the board of the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research; the International Advisory Committee for A*STAR, Singapore; and the Caribbean Health Research Council. The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP is the Conservative MP for South West Surrey. He has previously served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Secretary of State for Health, and Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.  -- CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you’d like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk.

This week, Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by with Dr Jean Adams, NIHR Research Fellow at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research, and Dr Jag Srai, Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing, Institute for Manufacturing for a discussion about food security and supply chains during the covid-19 pandemic. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. This episode was also produced in collaboration with Cambridge Global Food Security. Our guests this week: Dr Jean Adams trained in medicine at Newcastle University before completing a PhD focusing on the role of biological ageing in socio-economic inequalities in health. She then won an MRC Health of the Population fellowship to work on the role of time perspective in socio-economic inequalities in health behaviours; followed by an NIHR Career Development Fellowship to work on financial incentives for health behaviour change. During these fellowship,s Jean was a Senior Lecturer in Public Health at Newcastle University. Jean moved to Cambridge University to join CEDAR in 2014. Dr Jag Srai is Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge’s Dept. of Eng. Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). His research focus is in the analysis, design and operation of international manufacturing supply networks including the impact of advanced production and digital technologies. -- This series is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you’d like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk .

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Professor of Communication Systems Jon Crowcroft, and epidemiologist Dr Caroline Trotter, for a discussion focused on the role of technology in the covid-19 pandemic. From trustworthy digital systems to digital identity and immunity pass-porting, they explore some of the new opportunities and challenges for innovative technology in the context of COVID-19. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Our guests this week:  Professor Jon Crowcroft is the Marconi Professor of Networked Systems in the Computer Laboratory, of the University of Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the ACM, a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Fellow of the IEE and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as a Fellow of the IEEE. Dr Caroline Trotter is an epidemiologist and a Principal Research Associate, Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge. She is also the Academic Director Cambridge Africa in the Department of Pathology, and is an Honorary Epidemiologist at Public Health England. -- This series is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you’d like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk .

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by Dr Meredith Crowley, Reader in International Economics, University of Cambridge and Dr Christopher Rauh, Lecturer in Economics, University of Cambridge. They explore the implications of the COVID-19 shock for international trade and labour market inequalities, with a focus on the UK context.  CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. This episode was also produced with the support of COVID-19 Economic Research, which is led by Cambridge's Institute for New Economic Thinking.  Our guests this week:  Dr Meredith Crowley is Reader in International Economics, University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on international trade, multinational trade agreements, and trade policy. She has previously worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, as a visiting associate professor at Georgetown University, as an Adviser to the American Law Institute project on the Principles of the Law of World Trade and as an Advisory Board Member to the Pew Charitable Trusts' Subsidyscope project. Dr Christopher Rauh is a Lecturer in Economics, University of Cambridge. His research interests lie in Labour Economics and Political Economy. His research focuses on social inequality and intergenerational mobility, particularly how inequalities develop in the first place, and continue to affect lives as people affected by them grow up. He has recently spoken with the Naked Scientists podcast and has been interviewed by VICE and Wired about the economic effects of the lockdown. He has also written about the effects of covid-19 on workers. -- This series is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you’d like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk .

How are children, including the most vulnerable, coping with the covid19 pandemic and home schooling? Will the covid-19 pandemic have longer term effects on our education systems? What impact has the pandemic had on adolescents' rites of passage? This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor of Psychology and Paul Ramchandani, LEGO Professor of Play in Education, to discuss how the pandemic is impacting on the learning, wellbeing and mental health of children and adolescents. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. -- Our guests this week: Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is Professor of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, UK, and leader of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Group. Her group's research focuses on the development of social cognition and decision making in the human adolescent brain, and adolescent mental health. She is a member of the Royal Society Public Engagement Committee, and Chair of the Royal Society of Biology Education and Science Policy Committee. Professor Paul Ramchandani is LEGO® Professor of Play in Education, Development and Learning at Cambridge University, UK. He leads a research team investigating the role of play in children’s early development. He also works as a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in the UK National Health Service. -- This series is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you’d like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk .

This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Dr Simone Schnall and Dr Sander van der Linden to discuss to psychological aspects of the coronavirus pandemic. We explore topics including the psychological aspects of isolation, why people spread misinformation, and coping with uncertainty. CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Our guest this week: Dr Simone Schnall is a Reader in Experimental Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge.You can read Simone's recent blogs on Coronavirus: A View from Behavioral Science, which cover topics including "The White Male Effect" and "When Anxiety Yields to Grief".  Dr Sander van der Linden is a University Lecturer and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Laboratory at the University of Cambridge.  -- This series is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you’d like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk .