JUNIPER
We are pleased to be part of JUNIPER, the Joint University Pandemic and Epidemic Research. JUNIPER is a collaborative network of researchers from across the UK who work at the interface between mathematical modelling, infectious disease control and public health policy. The content listed here is part of our collaboration with JUNIPER and you can find out more about the work of other JUNIPER members on their website. We received an award from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) for our work with JUNIPER communicating maths concepts to policy-makers and the public during the COVID-19 emergency.

Keeping schools open in the next pandemic
classroom with children raising hands

To avoid full school closures in the next pandemic, or even epidemic, epidemiologists need crucial information from schools, students, and parents.
OK computer
design with computers

There's a romantic vision of mathematicians only needing pen and paper for their work. Here's why this is far from the truth when it comes to mathematical modelling, used to solve problems in the real world.
Stochastic spread
dice

When a new infectious disease enters a population everything depends on who catches it — superspreaders or people with few contacts who don't pass it on.  We investigate the stochastic nature of the early stages of an outbreak.
Maths in a minute: Branching processes
diagram

Worried about your population of bugs? A branching process can help you understand it.
Preparing for Disease X
virus

Experts in public health, industry and disease modelling came together this summer to discuss how maths can prepare for the next pandemic.
On the mathematical frontline: Modelling behaviour
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Our behaviour impacts not just our daily lives.  But how do you mathematically describe the messiness of human behaviour?
Beating bird flu with maths
chickens

With bird flu spreading through cattle herds in the US and infecting humans, the diseases poses a severe threat to wild life, poultry and also people. What can mathematical modelling do to help?
Measles cases on the rise: Why this is worrying and what we can do
measles rash

 

We look at the recent rise in measles cases, why it has led to a national health incident being declared, and what can be done to avert the threat.
Celebrating spring with new shoots of mathematics
flowers

From tiling bathrooms to fooling cancer cells, and from new insights in topology to bringing research into the classroom — we hope you enjoy our April round-up!
It's all connected – climate change and the spread of diseases
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We know climate change can impact our lives through weather events and food security, but it can also impact on the spread of diseases. We talk to Helena Stage from the University of Bristol to find out more.
Maths in a minute: The SIR model
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Find out the basics of the SIR model, the basis most disease modellers use to understand the spread of a disease through a population.
Maths in a minute: R – the reproduction ratio
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The reproduction ratio, R, is one of the most important numbers in epidemiology. Find out what it means in this very easy introduction.