Research Exchange Programme launches with first visit between University of Bristol and University of Warwick

The first researcher visit as part of the JUNIPER Researcher Exchange Programme (REP) took place last month (March 2024). Dr Helena Stage, lecturer in applied mathematics at the University of Bristol, visited Dr Louise Dyson, associate professor in epidemiology, at the University of Warwick. While Dr Stage and Dr Dyson have worked together as part of wider group partnerships during the COVID-19 response, the visit allowed them to develop a direct research collaboration between their research groups.

During the visit Dr Stage and Dr Dyson worked together on developing ways of sampling heterogenous populations, particularly when doing multiple rounds of testing, and utilised Dr Dyson’s experience of Neglected Tropical Diseases’ (NTDs) to apply the approach to yaws, an NTD targeted by the World Health Organisation for eradication by 2030. The experience has enabled Dr Stage to broaden their research experience of working with NTDs and new kinds of epidemiological data. Furthermore, the visit has helped to create a stronger collaborative link between the University of Bristol and the University of Warwick.
 

Dr Louise Dyson, associate professor in epidemiology, at the University of Warwick said:

“Having Helena come to visit Warwick for an extended period of time was invaluable to enable us to build a strong research collaboration between our two groups. It also provided Helena a unique opportunity to be embedded within the department at Warwick and develop further connections with relevant researchers. We are really looking forward to continuing to work together and have plans for a paper and MSc/PhD projects so that we can deepen this collaboration in the future”.
 

Dr Helena Stage, lecturer in applied mathematics at the University of Bristol said:

“Being able to visit Warwick for an extended period of time provided space to collaborate more effectively and develop the direction of our project - both theoretically and in the broader scope of our respective research plans. It was also a fantastic opportunity to build closer connections with other researchers. I regard it as both an excellent mentorship experience and a chance to establish budding collaborative research projects.”

The aim of the researcher exchange programme is to develop stronger collaborative links between the research groups of JUNIPER members at different academic institutions across the UK through supporting extended research visits to work on specific projects. The programme is specifically aimed at those new lecturers/fellows who are currently trying to establish their research group, to help support them to demonstrate leadership ability within the research community and to help them develop their wider research networks.