Transmission paradigms - the view from Engineers and Physicists with Profs Cath Noakes and Lidia Morawska

Infection Control Matters

In this episode, Martin and Brett get views on contact/droplet/airborne transmission from an Engineer (Prof Cath Noakes) and a Physicist (Prof Lidia Morawska).

Prof Catherine Noakes OBE is Professor of Environmental Engineering for Building at the University of Leeds. She is a chartered mechanical engineer, with a background in fluid dynamics. Her teaching and research expertise is in building physics and environmental engineering and leading research into ventilation, indoor air quality and infection control in the built environment. Her internationally recognised group carry out experimental and modelling based studies, in particular to explore the transport of airborne pathogens, the influence of indoor airflows and effectiveness of engineering approaches to controlling airborne disease transmission. This include substantial research activity and policy advice relating to COVID-19 transmission. During the COVID-19 pandemic She co-chaired the Environment and Modelling sub group for the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and contributed to multiple advisory groups and initiatives through IMechE, CIBSE, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Medical Sciences, WHO, the NHS and several government departments.

Prof Lidia Morawska is Distinguished Professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, at the Queensland University of Technology and Director of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (ILAQH) at QUT. Her work focuses on fundamental and applied research in the interdisciplinary field of air quality and its impact on human health, with a specific focus on atmospheric fine, ultrafine and nanoparticles. Since 2003, she expanded her interests to include also particles from human respiration activities and airborne infection transmission. In 2018, she received the Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research, as well as the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) 2017 David Sinclair Award. In 2020, she contributed to the area of airborne infection transmission of viruses, including COVID-19. In that same year she became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) and received the 2021 International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate Special 2020 Award for an Extraordinary Academic Leadership. In 2021, she was included on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.