The Department of Mathematics held the 12th seminar in the ‘Women in Mathematics’ series on Thursday 3 February 2022.
'Women in Mathematics' is an academic, professional and personal development seminar series presented by leading female mathematicians to offer support, encouragement and advice to female staff and students. It also provides an informal networking opportunity.
You can find the YouTube video of the event below. Michelle also took part in an interview for our blog, which you can read here.
The epidemiological impact of the NHS COVID-19 app
The epidemiological impact of the NHS COVID-19 app
The epidemiological impact of the NHS COVID-19 app
Abstract
Contact tracing is an important (albeit sometimes unpopular) part of the toolkit for limiting the spread of COVID-19. In this talk I will explain the theoretical motivation for contact tracing and for developing the NHS COVID-19 app. I will provide a brief history of its epidemiological impact which has been significant both in reducing COVID-19 transmission and in providing real-time information on the progression of the epidemic. Along the way, I will provide some reflections on how a once pure mathematician found herself working on a very real-world application, and how it has shaped the way I work.
Speaker biography
Michelle Kendall is a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick in the Health Protection Research Unit in Genomics and Enabling Data. Her work centres around developing statistical methods and software to answer questions about epidemiology and evolution. Since early 2020 she has focused on evaluating the impact of interventions on the spread of COVID-19 and currently holds an honourary position with UKHSA advising on the NHS COVID-19 app.
For further information or enquiries about the seminar series please contact: womeninmaths@maths.lse.ac.uk