Over the last two years we've done a lot of reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and the role mathematics has played in understanding the disease and informing how we've all responded.

The Mathematical frontline podcast is about the mathematicians who are grappling with the unprecedented challenge of studying a live pandemic unfolding in front of their eyes. In this podcast series we interview our colleagues in the JUNIPER modelling consortium, whose research and insights feed into the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (otherwise known as SPI-M) and the now familiar SAGE, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, both of whom advise the UK government on the scientific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this podcast we are really pleased to talk to Francesca Scarabel, a member of JUNIPER from the University of Manchester. Francesca tells us about what it's like being part of the mathematical emergency response, the importance of local knowledge, and not being afraid to share your ideas.

You can read more about the work Francesca mentions in this podcast in Understanding waning immunity.

You can listen to the podcast using the player above, and you can listen and subscribe to our podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and through most other podcast providers via podbean.

This podcast was produced as part of our collaboration with the JUNIPER, the Joint UNIversity Pandemic and Epidemic Response modelling consortium. JUNIPER comprises academics from the universities of Cambridge, Warwick, Bristol, Exeter, Oxford, Manchester, and Lancaster, who are using a range of mathematical and statistical techniques to address pressing question about the control of COVID-19. You can see more content produced with JUNIPER here.