The University of Cambridge has a strong interdisciplinary research programme in infectious disease dynamics. The Disease Dynamics Unit (DDU) based in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, together with other members of the Department study the growth, spread and control of pathogens within and between hosts. DDU members regularly provide advice to national and international authorities on public and animal health, on topics such as bovine tuberculosis control, influenza vaccine strain selection and meningitis vaccination.
The aim of the research is to understand and reduce the risk of cross infection between human and animals, and provide an evidence base for environmentally sustainable animal production, particularly in low and middle income countries. Approaches range from large scale field-based studies that draw on expertise from the social sciences, through experimental studies in natural hosts, to detailed laboratory based studies of host-pathogen interactions and immune pathogenesis.