Prof Robert Endres Imperial College London

Robert: I am a fundamental research scientist who uses his quantitative physics background to analyse biological data and to develop predictive models, mostly for processes at the cellular scale. In this interview I discuss the importance of a broad public debate of the Covid-19 health crisis, which should encompass the various scientific opinions, as well as their implications for our society and economy. Regarding scientific approaches, I would like to see the same rigorous scientific criteria applied as the ones we expect our students to use on a daily basis, in particular the critical assessment of the limitations of the methods and obtained results. For additional clarification, key scientific approaches to virus pandemics include virology (the study of viruses at the microscopic structural level), immunology (the study of our very complex innate and adaptive immune systems protecting us from pathogenic infections), and epidemiology (the mathematical modelling of disease outbreaks such as epidemics and e