Richard Gleave, UK Health Security Agency, and Professor Sharon Peacock, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, discussed the wider implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting on the success of the UK’s COVID-19 Genomics Consortium (COG-UK) in pandemic response and, more broadly, on the evolving role of scientific advice in times of public crises.

On 29 June, CSaP invited Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, to give a lecture on adolescent brain development – what we know and what it means for policy. The lecture took place at Trinity College, Cambridge.

CSaP's Policy Leaders Fellowship met earlier this month to explore the opportunities and challenges of Artificial Intelligence systems in healthcare. Leading the discussion was Professor Zoe Kourtzi, Professor of Experimental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge.

Dr Nick Watts, Chief Sustainability Officer for NHS England, met with the Cambridge Zero Policy Forum to discuss how the NHS can approach achieving net zero carbon emissions.

The Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) team at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) hosted a day of talks for members of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to discuss the digital transformation of healthcare services.

This year, CSaP partnered with the Wellcome Sanger Institute for a series of workshops on equity in international research collaborations––a fair distribution of responsibilities, benefits, and kudos between low and middle-income country (LMIC) researchers and high-income country (HIC) researchers.

Members of CSaP's Horn Fellowship gathered together at Sidney Sussex College for a day of talks with University of Cambridge academics on AI, supply chain networks and current geopolitical issues, such as the reclassification of the “Great Powers” in Europe.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge's Bioelectronics Laboratory guided CSaP's Policy Leaders Fellows on a tour of their cutting-edge facilities, demonstrating how recent advances at the interface of electrical engineering and clinical neuroscience have the potential to transform treatment approaches across healthcare.

For CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast, the Centre's Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday was joined by Sir Oliver Letwin, a former Cabinet Minister, Professor Melissa Leach, Director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, and Professor Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer for England, to discuss how science advice was used by decision-makers during the Ebola Outbreak in 2014.

A Psychology and Education Professor from the University of Cambridge outlined the importance of addressing and treating mental health problems early on, to help improve childhood outcomes and opportunities later in life. Gordon Harold delivered a seminar for CSaP’s Policy Leaders Fellows at Newnham College, Cambridge in March 2022.