IDDconf 2026
A Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics.
A Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics.
IDDconf 2026 is back! IDDconf 2026 is the sixth instalment of a meeting series focussing on innovative research in infectious disease dynamics.
This meeting is an opportunity for infectious disease modellers to share new ideas, in-progress research, and build an open and collaborative network of scientists.
Concurrent updates on this website and on BlueSky at @IDDconf.
Topics include any aspects of infectious disease dynamics: from methodological to applied modelling of emerging, epidemic and endemic infectious diseases, including epidemiology, phylodynamics, evolutionary biology and ecology.
We are aiming for the meeting to be as informal and family-friendly as possible. Please see the family section for more information.
Format: single-stream of short talks (~15 mins) by most attendees (numbers permitting), with a small poster session during evening reception.
In a change to previous years, a conference ticket and accomodation need to be purchased separately. If you do not need accomodation, a conference ticket is all that is needed. You can purchase 2 or 3 days of accomodation.
Abstracts for talks and posters will be solicited in April 2026. Decisions will be made in a transparent manner, without reference to topic or institution. IDDconf 2026 offers a presentation mentoring scheme.
We are committed to making IDDconf a relaxed and safe experience for everyone, free from bullying or harassment of any nature. We expect all participants to act in a professional and responsible manner. If you experience or witness anything of concern, please contact one of the meeting organisers.
*There are cafes and supermarkets in Ambleside, or a supermarket at Windermere train station, that we recommend delegates visit to get breakfast. The accommodation has kitchen facilities including kettle, toaster, crockery and fridges.
Refunds for tickets can be made up to 7th June 2026. Substitutions can be made up to 23rd June 2026.
IDDconf 2026 will have a presentation mentoring scheme. The aim is to allow speakers and attendees get the most out of presentations at IDDconf 2026, by generating constructive feedback ahead of the meeting.
Mentors will be able to volunteer at registration. For mentees, at the time of title submission you will be able to opt in to join the scheme. We hope that mentors and mentees of all academic levels will opt in to the scheme.
The scheme will pair people from different institutions, who will then set up a 30-minute video call in the 2 weeks before IDDconf 2026. The mentee will give their presentation, and receive constructive feedback from the mentor.
Here are some resources to help in preparing talks:
“How to give a good scientific talk” (video by Julian Rayner)
This is a great place to start, and fits well with IDDconf format.
“How To Give a Good Talk” (Paper by Uri Alon)
Some more details here, splitting into considering preparation, delivery and handling questions afterwards.
“Ten simple rules for short and swift presentations” (paper by Christopher Lortie)
(Can skip the preamble.) The “rules” will help in preparing slides.
IDDconf 2026 will provide bursaries for childcare during the conference. We have increased the support from previous years. Please indicate at registration if you are likely to need the bursary. IDDconf will provide £250 in travel and accommodation support.
Delegates cannot claim both bursaries. We encourage delegates to claim from a grant or funding agency if that is possible, to demonstrate to funders the need for these subsidies.
IDDconf has a limited budget, and childcare subsidies will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis until that limit is reached.
Children and babies are welcome at IDDconf, but caregivers should please make regular efforts not to interrupt speakers during sessions. Children are the responsibility of parents/caregivers while on campus and at IDDconf. Parents should note that that there will be alcoholic beverages at the poster session.
Children and babies are unfortunately not allowed in the University of Cumbria accommodation, and therefore outside accommodation must be sought for those bringing children. We suggest doing so as soon as your plans are made, as there is high demand in Ambleside. You are welcome to use the IDDconf parent mailing list to co-ordinate with other parents to find accommodation. At registration, please let us know if you would like to be added to the mailing list for people who may make childcare arrangements in Ambleside.
IDDconf 2026 will offer a workshop session, from 9am—12.30pm on Tuesday 7th July. Delegates can arrive on Monday evening, and should add workshop accomodation if needed.
Instructur: TJ McKinley (Exeter)
In this workshop we will cover some basic ideas around particle filtering methods and how they can be used to perform Bayesian inference for epidemic models. The workshop is intended to be an introduction to Bayesian inference, MCMC and particle filtering, discussing some of the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach, and then illustrating these ideas with some worked examples in R.
Instructors: Kath Sherratt and Sam Abbott (LSHTM)
In this course we will explore how to visualize and interpret infectious disease forecasts, evaluate forecast performance and identify limitations, and combine multiple forecasts into ensembles. We will introduce the concepts and then work through examples implemented in R.
Our aim is to provide a fairly small (~100), community-driven conference, to improve interaction between modellers. We want a forum for modellers to present up to date work, stimulate discussion, and build collaborations. We are completely transparent about decision-making, and as many of these decisions as possible (such as talk selection) are done randomly. Last year we gave away leftover wine using a live random number selection in R!
IDDconf is organised by the Juniper Organisation. Organisation is led by Roz Eggo, with Julia Gog (Cambridge), Nick Davies, Ciara Dangerfield, Cian Ryan (Lancaster), and Jon Read (Lancaster) on the organisation team. The conference is run by The University of Cambridge but there is no particular focus on Cambridge at the conference.
IDDconf.org is the sister of IDDjobs.org, a community-driven site for finding and posting positions in infectious disease dynamics. Please add your jobs, and studentships there!
For any questions or queries regarding content, please email contact@iddconf.org, and in relation to logistics, organisation, or dietary requirements, Juniper (with IDDconf in the subject line).