When infectious diseases sweep through human populations, they can often bring detrimental effects to the health and functioning of society. But why do the pathogens that underpin these diseases require human hosts? Why do they cause illness? And importantly, can we predict how they will spread through populations?

In this episode of OxPods, biology PhD student Joe Woodman will be interviewing Professor Sunetra Gupta, a theoretical epidemiologist who uses mathematical models to determine the evolution, diversity and spread of pathogens.