Course summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the major challenges of controlling the spread of infectious disease in a highly interconnected world. This has had a massive impact on public health, the economy, social interaction and the way we work. While the pandemic revealed a lack of preparedness in many parts of the world, it was not the first and it will not be the last. Therefore, we need to develop a workforce that is able to respond to future pandemics. You will be provided with a breadth of interdisciplinary expertise and practical role-play in the epidemiology, immunology, control and management of epidemics and pandemics in a One Health (integrated medical and veterinary) context led by leading experts in their respective fields. With a core syllabus in Infection & Immunity, the Emerging Infections and Pandemics MSc takes you from the laboratory bench into the highly topical field of mathematical modelling to understand how pandemics spread and how to slow them down. You will also work through an Outbreak Scenario across two semesters, where you will come to understand the critical role of policy, communication and the media in the success (or otherwise) of translating scientific knowledge into effective disease control. This programme will enable you to further develop your skills in communications and statistics beyond undergraduate level and will train you to critically evaluate and synthesise aspects of infectious diseases and immunology with practical applications in public health and outbreak control. The Liverpool City Region played a critical role in the Covid-19 pandemic by rolling-out the first mass asymptomatic testing programme worldwide and was selected as a key location of the Events Research Programme, which determined that large social gatherings could be held safely using testing or confirmation of vaccination status. The University of Liverpool is a major partner in Liverpool’s new Pandemic Institute and our academics include several experts who advised Government during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as scientists working on new Covid treatments and improved understanding of Long Covid. WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR? This master’s is for graduates from a Biomedical Sciences background who want to develop understanding and skills in statistical analyses, infection biology and disease surveillance, with the interdisciplinary expertise required to prevent, monitor and control medical and veterinary infectious disease outbreaks.