JUNIPER (Joint UNIversities Pandemic and Epidemiological Research) is a consortium of modelling groups from eight universities:

Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, Lancaster, LSHTM, Manchester, Oxford, and Warwick.

We are funded by UKRI.

Background

The Joint UNIversities Pandemic and Epidemiological Research (JUNIPER) consortium is a network of independent research groups from academic institutions across the UK who develop mathematical and statistical models to better understand the dynamics and control of infectious diseases. The consortium was founded during the pandemic in the autumn of 2020 to connect multiple epidemiological modelling groups at different UK universities into a cohesive network that could provide coordination of the mathematical and statistical modelling of the COVID-19 response to interface with the UK government and the wider research community. 

The scientific activities of the JUNIPER consortium focus around 10 key research themes: Preparedness, Populations, Interventions, Individuals, Education, Other Settings, Variants, Urban Analytics, Behavioural Sciences and Environmental Sampling. Through an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, the JUNIPER consortium aims to synthesise understanding gained during the pandemic, identify key knowledge gaps within the research themes and develop novel mathematical approaches to address these research challenges. The senior academic leadership team of the consortium also has strong links to government public health policy, with a number of senior team holding joint appointments with UKHSA and participating in the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) which advises the Department for Health and Social Care (DSHC). Through these transnational links, the JUNIPER consortium aims to induce step-changes in how mathematical modelling interfaces with pandemic preparedness and public health.

The JUNIPER consortium embeds its scientific activities within an open and collaborative framework, including considerable public outreach through public lectures and our collaboration with Plus Magazine. Our consortium is outward-facing and inclusive of the wider academic community through our seminars and research meetings. We aim to build national capacity and also contribute to training the next generation of applied epidemiological modellers.