This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Prof Daniela De Angelis, Professor of Statistical Science for Health at the University of Cambridge to discuss applying statistical methods to epidemiology, disease transmission, and how we're using models to understand the burden on the NHS posed by 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 guest this week: Professor De Angelis works on developing and apply statistical methods to characterise epidemics, exploiting the complex body of available information. She is Deputy Director of the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge.  Professor De Angelis has been working throughout the covid-19 response as part of an epidemiological modelling group advising the UK Government. -- 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 the University of Cambridge's Professor Stephen Baker and Dr Caroline Trotter for a discussion about epidemiology and diagnostic testing for Covid-19. Kicking off the discussion, Dr Baker shares what he has learned leading one of the first academic labs converted to a diagnostic lab, now carrying out validated rapid testing at Cambridge's Addenbrooke’s Hospital. We ask about the feasibility and scalability of his model, and hear about what lessons he might have to share with other labs around the country. Throughout the episode, we also discuss asymptomatic cases, the macro picture of the disease based on epidemiological models, and the challenges low and middle income countries - and places facing humanitarian crises - may face in their covid-19 responses.  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 Stephen Baker, Professor of Molecular Microbiology, University of Cambridge, is presently leading a diagnostic lab focused on covid-19. Prior to the pandemic, his work focused on the Wellcome Africa- Asia programme, where he focused on specific bacteria that cause infectious disease in humans in low-middle income countries. 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 .

What do we know about public trust in expert knowledge when the stakes are high and there is considerable uncertainty? This week, our host Dr Rob Doubleday sits down with Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter and Dr Alexandra Freeman of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication. In the context of the current pandemic, we discuss what research has been done on the best way to communicate evidence and uncertainty and the best way to communicate the relationship between expert advice and political decision making.  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 Sir David Spiegelhalter is Chair of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge.  He was Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge from 2007 to 2018. He has worked on Understanding Uncertainty, and is the acclaimed author of The Art of Statistics. He has recently been exploring the question "how much ‘normal’ risk does Covid represent?", and he regularly hosts the podcast Risky Talk. Dr Alexandra Freeman is the Executive Director of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication. She previously worked for the BBC, primarily a producer and director for BBC Science. She worked on a number of popular series including "Walking with Beasts", "Trust Me I'm a Doctor" and "Climate Change by Numbers". Her work has won numerous awards, including a BAFTA and the AAAS Kavli gold award for science journalism. She has recently written about how different countries are reacting to the COVID-19 risk and their governments’ responses. -- 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 .

What do we know about immunity, the epidemiology, testing strategies, and data collection in the context of the coronavirus pandemic? On what basis are governments making decisions, and how much uncertainty is there in current epidemiological models? We answer these questions and more in the first episode of our new podcast series Science, Policy & Pandemics. In this week's episode, our host Rob Doubleday, sits down with infectious disease epidemiologist Professor James Wood and mathematician Professor Julia Gog to bring you an overview of infectious disease modeling and to answer some questions about the covid19 pandemic.   This series on science, policy and pandemics is brought to you by the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge, 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. -- 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 .

The Centre for Science and Policy's Executive Director, Dr Rob Doubleday, introduces our upcoming series on Science, Policy & Pandemics. This series is produced by CSaP in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network. Learn more about our work at: www.csap.cam.ac.uk