Professional experience
| 2024 – present | Royal Society University Research Fellow | Department of Statistics (SBIDER), University of Warwick |
| 2022 – 2024 | Warwick Zeeman Lecturer | Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick |
| 2021 – 2022 | Postdoctoral researcher COVID-19 modelling | Big Data Institute, University of Oxford Named researcher, JUNIPER Consortium |
| 2020 – 2021 | Postdoctoral researcher COVID-19 Test & Trace | Big Data Institute, University of Oxford Co-I, MRC DHSC/UKRI Rapid Response Grant |
| 2019 – 2020 | Postdoctoral researcher Mathematical modelling of NTDs | Big Data Institute, University of Oxford NTD Modelling Consortium |
| 2018 | Research assistant Elimination of lymphatic filariasis | Big Data Institute, University of Oxford NTD Modelling Consortium |
| 2017 | Research assistant Seasonal modelling of intestinal worms | Zeeman Institute, University of Warwick Named researcher, EPSRC Global Challenges |
Qualifications
| 2020 | PhD University of Warwick | Modelling neglected tropical diseases PIs: Deirdre Hollingsworth, Matt Keeling |
| 2016 | MSc (Distinction) University of Warwick | Mathematics of real-world systems PIs: Deirdre Hollingsworth, Matt Keeling, Ian Hall |
| 2015 | MRes (Distinction) Imperial College | Epidemiology, evolution and control of infectious diseases. PIs: Thomas Churcher, Neil Ferguson |
| 2014 | MMath (1st class Hons) University of Warwick | Mathematics |
Grants and fellowships
| 2024 | Role: PI. Royal Society University Research Fellowship, University of Warwick. “VECTOR-X: Verifying elimination, capturing trends and observing resurgence through xeno-monitoring.” |
| 2024 | Role: PI. EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), University of Warwick (£24,590). “Translating a human migration model of lymphatic filariasis transmission to the specific cases of the Thailand- Myanmar border and the Savanes Region of Togo.” |
| 2023 | Role: PI. Policy Support Fund (Research England), University of Warwick (£49,988.00). “Linking modelling and policy for lymphatic filariasis elimination surveillance in Bangladesh.”Collaborators: Disease control programmes in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. |
| 2023 | Role: PI. Wellcome Translational Partnership Rapid Response Award, University of Warwick (£1,500.00) Travel funds to support the project: “Linking modelling and policy for lymphatic filariasis elimination surveillance in Bangladesh.” |
| 2022 | Role: PI. EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), University of Warwick (£9,998.00). “Collaborating with national programmes to detect resurgence of the disease lymphatic filariasis in post-elimination settings through mosquito sampling: sensitivity and feasibility.”Collaborators: Disease programme in Sri Lanka; Prof Simon Spencer (Warwick Stats). |
| 2022 | Role: PI. Royal Society RAMP Outreach Award, University of Oxford (£1,640.00). |
| 2022 | Travel Award. European Society of Mathematical and Theoretical Biology. |
| 2021 | Junior Research Fellowship. Wolfson College, University of Oxford. |
| 2021 | Role: Named researcher. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Modelling Consortium. PI: Prof Deirdre Hollingsworth. |
| 2020 | Role: Named researcher. UKRI Joint UNIversities Pandemic and Epidemiological Research (JUNIPER) consortium. PIs: Prof Matt Keeling and Prof Julia Gog. |
| 2020 | Role: Co-I with Elizabeth Fearon. MRC DHSC/UKRI COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative, LSHTM (£515,899.73). “An analytical framework for Test, Trace and Isolate in the UK: optimising and targeting deployment alongside other measures.” |
| 2016 | Role: Named researcher. EPSRC Global Challenges Research Fund, University of Warwick (£25,600). “Developing new models to understand the dynamics of soil transmitted helminths in Sri Lanka.” PI: Prof Deirdre Hollingsworth. |
Pending applications
Awards and Honours
| 2022 | Weldon Memorial Prize | Awarded jointly to all members of SPI-M-O for “noteworthy contributions to the development of mathematical or statistical methods applied to problems in biology.” |
| 2022 | SPI-M-O Award for Modelling and Data Support | Awarded by the UK Department of Health and Social Care for an exceptional individual contribution to the work of SPI-M-O. |
| 2022 | Commendation: ONS Research Excellence Awards 2022 | “Commendation for public benefit and impact” from the ONS for modelling the effect of contact tracing during the pandemic. |
| 2021 | RAMP Early Career Investigator Award | Awarded by the Royal Society for contributions to the UK COVID-19 modelling effort. |
| 2019 | 1st place, Take AIM Competition | Annual science communication competition run by The Smith Institute for UK-based PhD students in mathematics. |
Teaching and mentoring
Teaching
| 2022 – 2024 | Mathematical Methods and Modelling I University of Warwick | Module lead (in-person, 180+ students): lectures; syllabus re-design and content creation – including comprehensive lecture notes and video tutorials; exam and assessment setting. |
| 2022 – 2023 | Intro to Mathematical Biology University of Warwick | Module lead (in-person, 130+ students): lectures; curation of course materials; exam setting and marking. |
| 2022 – 2024 | Infectious Disease Modelling: Applied Methods in R University of Oxford DCE | Module lead (virtual, up to 20 students): course design and content creation; lectures and workshops; writing and marking assessments. With the Department for Continuing Education. |
| 2022 – 2024 | Infectious Disease Modelling: Mathematical Techniques University of Oxford DCE | Module lead (virtual, up to 20 students): course design and content creation; lectures and workshops; writing and marking assessments. With the Department for Continuing Education. |
| 2018 – 2019 | Theory of ODEs University of Warwick | Support class teaching (up to 30 students): three 1-hour sessions a week; mostly board-led and Q&A. |
| 2016 – 2019 | Mathematical Analysis I & II University of Warwick | Seminar teaching (up to 30 students): two 2-hour lessons a week; mostly board-led with interactive elements / group work. |
| 2016 – 2018 | Small group supervisor University of Warwick | Supporting 1st and 2nd year undergraduate students (Maths, 5 students per group) with core module content, individual projects, marking assignments, and general pastoral support. |
PhD students
| 2023 – 2026 | Luke Murray-Kearney (Primary supervisor) University of Warwick | The impact of clustering and individual heterogeneity on the transmission of infectious diseases. Secondary supervisor: Prof Matt Keeling. |
| 2021 – 2024 | Li Pi (Secondary supervisor) University of Oxford | Using data-driven network models to investigate the heterogeneities of COVID-19 transmission. Primary supervisor: Prof Deirdre Hollingsworth. |
Other research mentoring
| 2023 – 2024 | Masters project supervisor University of Warwick | 1. MMath R project: Investigating the utility of backwards contact tracing for COVID-19. 2. MMath R project: Metapopulation models to assess the impact of cross-border movement on disease elimination. |
| 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year Essay supervisor University of Warwick | Applying population models to the ecology and evolution of micro- and single-celled organisms. |
| 2023 | Research Assistant PI University of Warwick | Project lead overseeing a three-month research assistant post on a small grant in modelling mosquito-borne diseases. |
| 2022 – 2023 | Masters project supervisor University of Warwick | MMath 4th year project student using mathematical modelling to assess vector control impact for visceral leishmaniasis. |
| 2021 – 2022 | Postgraduate advisor University of Oxford | Postgraduate college advisor and academic mentor to three students at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. |
| 2021 | Undergraduate intern advisor University of Oxford | Mentor and supervisor to summer student intern on machine learning and data analysis. Co-led interview process. |
| 2021 | Research assistant mentor University of Oxford | Mentor and supervisor to a pre-doctoral research assistant in COVID-19 modelling. Co-led interview process. |
| 2020 | Group data project mentor University of Oxford | Data science mentor to groups of CDT students on a two-week intensive data challenge looking at COVID-19 data. |
| 2017 – 2018 | Research assistant mentor University of Warwick | Research mentor to a pre-doctoral RA in mathematical modelling of neglected tropical diseases. |
Course direction and materials development
| 2022 – 2023 | Course development University of Oxford DCE | Creation from scratch of two new Weekly Oxford Worldwide online modules (outreach) on infectious disease modelling, including all content, online resources and assessments. Topics: 1. Mathematical Techniques; 2. Applied Methods in R. |
| 2022 | Course development University of Warwick | Co-development of a new 1st year module on mathematical modelling and differential equations, including lecture notes, assignments, example sheets and online video content. |
| 2021 | Workshop design Big Data Institute, University of Oxford | Reproducible Coding (NTD Modelling Consortium). Topics: GitHub and the Gitflow Workflow; Unit testing; How to write code for research; Barriers to reproducibility. |
Public lectures and outreach
| 2023 | Live Labs, Warwick Christmas Lectures. “What’s my age again?” Interactive stall on how errors in guessing the age of others impacts our understanding of social networks. Linked to PhD project on algorithms for constructing age-structured networks from contact surveys. |
| 2023 | Invited lecture. ONS Secure Research Service Research Excellence Series. “Using models to assess the impact of contact tracing on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.” |
| 2022 – present | Outreach. Epi with Emma: popular science outreach YouTube channel on infectious disease modelling and mathematics, funded by a Royal Society RAMP Outreach Award. |
| 2021 | Invited lecture. Stochastic modelling of test, trace and isolate interventions for COVID-19. “An imperfect tool: why is contact tracing so hard to get right?” JUNIPER seminar series, Isaac Newton Institute, University of Cambridge.Link: https://www.newton.ac.uk/seminar/30071/ |
| 2019 | Invited lecture and 1st prize. Mathematical modelling of infectious diseases (popular science). “A Zombie Apocalypse?” Smith Institute, TakeAIM Awards Ceremony. |
Admin roles
| 2023 – present | Committee Chair University of Warwick | Maths Early Career Committee. Responsibilities: organising and chair meetings, oversight of ECC activities and initiatives, liaising with senior faculty on ECR issues. |
| 2023 | Seminar coordinator University of Warwick | SBIDER Summer Seminar Series: conception and organisation, designed to support research student engagement in summer. |
| 2021 – present | Advisory Board member University of Warwick | Mathematics of Real-World Systems CDT. |
Recent engagement activities
| Nov 2023 | EPIDEMICS9 conference, Bologna, Italy: A model of mosquito feeding and transmission incorporating age-dependent mortality. | Invited session chair and poster presentation. |
| Nov 2023 | ONS Research Excellence Series: Modelling the impact of Test and Trace on COVID-19 in the UK. | Invited seminar. |
| Oct 2023 | COR-NTD and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting. Collaboration development meetings with Bangladesh Filariasis Programme Director. | Invited participant, breakout session participation, collaborator meetings. |
| Aug 2023 | SBIDER Summer Seminar Series: My research journey and modelling disease elimination. | Internal presentation. |
| Jul 2023 | Meeting on modelling morbidity for NTDs, University of Oxford. | Collaborator visit. |
| Mar 2023 | Meeting with collaborators at the Anti-Filariasis Campaign, Colombo, Sri Lanka. | Collaborator visit. |
| Dec 2022 | WHO, global programme managers and collaborators meeting on post-elimination surveillance for lymphatic filariasis, Bangkok, Thailand. | Invited participation in meetings and discussion. |
| Sep 2022 | WHO NTDs and modelling collaboration meeting, Switzerland. | Invited participation in meetings and discussion. |
| Sep 2022 | European Conference of Mathematical and Theoretical Biology, Germany: COVID-19 temporal test sensitivity. | Poster presentation. |
| Jun 2022 | Modelling the COVID-19 pandemic: achievements and lessons, Royal Society (RAMP) and INI, UK. | Invited talk. |
| May 2022 | WHO leprosy elimination consultations (online). | Oral presentation and discussions; lead on modelling work. |
| Apr 2022 | JUNIPER Consortium meeting, UK: A statistical model for SARS-CoV-2 test sensitivity over time since infection. | Oral presentation. |
| Dec 2021 | Media Interviews: Times Radio, BBC News Channel, BBC Radio 4 (all online). | Questions around the implications of the Omicron variant for UK policy. |
| Dec 2021 | EPIDEMICS 8: Exploring the current limitations and potential areas of improvement of COVID-19 contact tracing in the UK (online). | Poster presentation. |
| Nov 2021 | TTI Workshop: Discussion on lessons learned and future questions around Test, Trace, and Isolate in the UK. | Invited talk. |
| Jul 2021 | JUNIPER seminar series (INI): An imperfect tool: why is contact tracing so hard to get right? UK (online). | Invited seminar. |
| Mar 2021 | Media Interview: BBC News Channel, UK (online). | Vaccine impact on COVID-19. |
| Mar 2021 | Reproducibility workshop (NTD Modelling Consortium): Workshop on reproducible coding, unit testing and GitHub for disease modellers, UK (online). | Organiser and chair. |
| Mar 2021 | NTD Modelling Consortium Science Day: One-day conference on scientific techniques for modelling neglected tropical diseases, UK (online). | Organiser and co-chair |
| Nov 2020 | ASTMH Annual Meeting (online): Predicting the impact of disruptions in lymphatic filariasis elimination programs due to COVID-19 | Poster presentation |
| Oct 2020 | SPI-B Workshop: Measuring adherence to self-isolation, UK (online). | Discussions and development of framework for behavioural surveys. |
| Oct 2020 | Isaac Newton Institute (INI) Future Pandemics: Endemicity or elimination? UK (online). | Invited oral presentation. |
| Oct 2020 | SPI-M weekly meeting: What are the impacts of moving testing capacity from low to high prevalence areas or vice versa? UK (online). | Invited oral presentation and report. |
| Jun 2020 | SPI-M weekly meeting: Backwards contact tracing. | Invited oral presentation and report. |
| Jun 2020 | Isaac Newton Institute Infectious Dynamics of Pandemics: Modelling the impact of test sensitivity on contact tracing for COVID-19 control, UK (online). | Invited oral presentation. |
Professional service
| Peer review | BMJ Global Health, impact factor 8.056; Nature Communications Biology, 5.489; PLoS Computional Biology, 4.475; PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 4.411; Epidemics, 4.396; Scientific Reports, 4.379; Parasites & Vectors, 3.876; International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 3.364. |
| Seminar coordination | Concept and organiser: SBIDER Summer Seminar Series, University of Warwick, 2023.Co-organiser: TTI workshop, Isaac Newton Institute, University of Cambridge, 2021.Organiser and co-chair: NTD Modelling Consortium Science Day 2021.Organiser and chair: “Reproducibility and responsible coding” workshop for the NTD Modelling Consortium plus guests, 2021.Co-organiser and co-chair: NTD Modelling Consortium Science Day 2020.Weekly research meeting coordinator: Hollingsworth Group, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, 2020-2021. |
| Professional affiliations | American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; British Society of Parasitology; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Society for Mathematical Biology; Joint UNIversities Pandemic and Epidemiological Research (JUNIPER) network. |
Additional qualifications and training
| 2023 – 2024 | In progress: APP TE (Academic Professional Pathway for Teaching Excellence), University of Warwick. |
| 2022 | Tackling Racial Inequality at Warwick Staff Development Program, University of Warwick. |
| 2021 | Media interviews: method and delivery. Two-day course, University of Oxford. |
| 2019 | Postgraduate Certificate in Transferrable Skills in Science, University of Warwick, including modules in:Science Communication – worked with BBC Radio Warwickshire to produce a radio show on popular science and antibiotic resistance.Research Ethics.- Teamworking in a Research Environment. |
| 2018 | Adult Mental Health First Aid (two-day course), conferred by MHFA England. |