The Rules of Contagion

The School was delighted to welcome mathematician, epidemiologist, award-winning science writer and Old Edwardian, Dr Adam Kucharski, to King Edward’s on 7 March to give the nineteenth annual Wroughton Lecture. The lecture series is sponsored by former Headmaster, Dr John Wroughton, with ticket sales supporting the School’s Bursary Fund.

An Associate Professor and Sir Henry Dale Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr Kucharski specialises in infectious disease epidemiology and modelling. He has worked on outbreaks including Ebola, dengue, Zika, influenza and COVID-19, contributing real-time analysis to multiple governments and health agencies. 

Alongside his academic position, Dr Kucharski is a burgeoning author and science communicator. He is a TED Senior Fellow and winner of the 2016 British Science Association Rosalind Franklin Award, and his popular science articles have appeared in publications including The Observer, Financial Times, The Times, El Pais, New Statesman and Wired.  His second book, The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread – and Why They Stop, was named a 2020 Science Book of the Year by The Times, The Guardian and Financial Times. 

Dr Kucharski’s fascinating lecture focused on key themes from his book, The Rules of Contagion, and asked: why do things spread and why do they stop? Following an historical overview of how the mathematical modelling of infectious diseases has evolved, his talk illustrated the underlying principles that drive contagion, from deadly viruses and violence to online misinformation and innovations. He then revealed the human factors that influence transmission, the challenge of predicting outbreaks, and why some forms of contagion, such as the Love Bug computer virus released in 2000, are so persistent. Dr Kucharski’s thought-provoking lecture was a compelling insight into how modern mathematical modelling is informing our understanding of what is happening in a world that is more inter-connected than ever before, and how this information can help us to better respond to the challenges posed by contagion in all its dynamic forms.