Wrap up and meet the researchers

This section is designed to conclude a series of lessons from the Contagious Maths: Understanding the Spread of Infectious Diseases collection, and should flow whether you finish after Part 2, 3, or 4. Here is a lesson by lesson breakdown.

Why do this problem?

The material here includes videos of Professor Julia Gog linking what students have done in these lessons with the world of academic research, and sharing her enthusiasm at being able to contribute to the world by using maths in this way. She also introduces some of the ethical considerations that policy makers are faced with, alongside the videos of three other researchers in infectious disease modelling based at the University of Cambridge, who each introduce one aspect of their research. This aims to encourage students to see how mathematics is of value in helping to control infectious disease, and offers a chance to see some real researchers enthuse about their field.  

Possible approach

Start by watching this video clip in which Julia shares her enthusiasm for using maths to tackle real world problems, such as helping to control epidemics. Julia connects the approaches students have taken in these lessons with real research, with emphasis on the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of science and mathematics. Models can always be developed further, and this iterative and explorative approach is analogous to how researchers work.  

Then go on to watch some or all of the four researchers talking about their own work:

• Julia, posing a problem about allocation of vaccines
• Petra, discussing the challenges of understanding how people move and mix
• Maria, on her model of how viruses evolve to evade immunity from vaccines
• Desmond, on his work on waning immunity

The later two (Maria and Desmond) were graduate students at the time of these videos, working towards their doctorate degrees.

You could follow this up by splitting the class into small groups, and challenging them with the problem posed by Julia on vaccine allocation, which touches on difficult ethical and medical decisions which policy makers must address. Ask each group to decide on what they would advise a government to do - vaccinate the most vulnerable, the carers, the most frequent travellers, those who meet most people in their day-to-day lives... - and then ask them to present their recommendations and justifications. You may need to decide on the context (particularly which infectious disease, and the effectiveness of the vaccine).