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During the Covid-19 pandemic, our team has been working to connect policymakers with the expertise they need to engage in evidence-based decision-making. We've been hosting regular workshops which connect experts with policymakers, and have been recording a weekly podcast series in partnership with the Cambridge Immunology Network and Cambridge Infectious Diseases. You can keep up to date with our latest information on the coronavirus pandemic here.


  • 28 July 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Covid-19 in India

    As part of our podcast series on science, policy and pandemics, we explored the economic, food security, and health systems impacts of covid-19 in India.
  • 20 July 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Preparing for Future Pandemics

    In the final episode of our series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, Dr Rob Doubleday asks: What have we learned about the origins and responses to Covid-19, and how can we prepare for the next pandemic?
  • 16 July 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Cities and Covid-19

    In the 16th episode of our series on science, policy and pandemics, we explored our how public health understandings of cities, and broader understandings of how people live in cities, are being highlighted and challenged by our current experience of the covid-19 pandemic.
  • 26 June 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Vaccines

    In the fourteenth episode of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, we explored the subject of vaccines and immunology. We heard three different perspectives on 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.
  • 19 June 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Perspectives on Easing Lockdown Restrictions

    Finding a new "normal" after lockdown is fraught with uncertainty. In the thirteenth episode of our podcast series on science, policy & pandemics, we're sharing the perspectives of an engineer, an economist, and a policy advisor on easing the lockdown.
  • 15 June 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Our Current Understanding of Covid-19

    What have we learned about the epidemiology of covid-19 since the onset of the UK’s lockdown? In the twelfth episode of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday was joined by disease dynamic experts to discuss what we know now about the dynamics of covid-19 that we didn't know twelve weeks ago.
  • 9 June 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Building Trust Between Politicians and Scientific Advisers

    As part of our podcast series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, Dr Rob Doubleday and Salma Shah explored how the relationship between scientists and policymakers works in practice. With guests Lord Alistair Darling and Professor Frank Kelly, they discussed 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.
  • 29 May 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: The Principles and Practice of Decision Making in Government

    As part of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, we explored the principles and practice of decision making in government during health emergencies, using the UK's response to Ebola, Novichok, and childhood obesity as case studies.
  • 22 May 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: The State of Food Security During the Covid-19 Crisis

    As part of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, we explored food insecurity, the public policies to support food provision to those who are shielding, and supply chain resilience in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.
  • 15 May 2020

    Science, Policy & Pandemics: Innovative Technology and Covid-19

    As part of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, we explored some of the new opportunities and challenges for innovative technology in the context of COVID-19, including trustworthy digital systems, digital identity and immunity passports.