Achi news desk-
A University of Guelph professor is co-leading a project that aims to better prepare for future health emergencies.
Lawrence Goodridge, a professor of microbiology at the post-secondary institution, is among several researchers involved in the $15-million initiative.
Goodridge said the aim is to develop ways to build resilience in supply chains linked to the bio-manufacturing sector.
“We really hope to develop more robust procedures that would use surveillance for these pathogens and wastewater as an early signal,” Goodridge said.
He said if they can pick up a signal, they can alert and work with supply chains to make sure they can find other places to source their material, so disruptions don’t happen again.
The Integrated Network for Pathogen Surveillance: Increasing Resilience and capacity in Canada’s pandemic response (INSPIRE) will be led by Goodridge and Robert McKay of the University of Windsor.
Along with researchers at U of G and in collaboration with the University of Windsor, Goodridge successfully applied to the Canada Biomedical Research Fund, which was created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The team also includes researchers from the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and partners at more than two dozen academic, public, private and non-profit institutions.
The initiative is financially supported by two federal research funds. The CBRF is providing almost $13 million, of which just over $2 million will come from the Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund (BRIF). U of G is receiving nearly $3.9 million in funding for the project, which began in March.
Goodridge said the federal funding will go toward purchasing scientific equipment and supplies, as well as hiring staff.
In a news release on Wednesday, INSPIRE will help develop proactive strategies for the bio-manufacturing and health sectors to mitigate the impact of infectious diseases, as well as improve the sharing of information and technologies across borders.
He said an initiative like this will help him and the public better prepare for other health emergencies in the future.
“This project is very timely because that is one problem we can start working on immediately and if there are any future pandemics, which we would all agree would be unfortunate, at least we are in a better position to respond,” he said. .
Goodridge said researchers will create effective models should the team face any challenges, including integrating wastewater surveillance and social media and using artificial intelligence to prevent disruptions in the supply chain.
She said she felt humbled and excited to co-lead such an initiative. He said it represented a proactive step in preparing for the next health crisis in the future.
“We tend to be a very reactive society, so we tend to wait until there’s a problem and we know there’s a problem before we react to it,” he said. “And in the case of pandemics, as we saw with the last pandemic, that is too late. By then, people are sick and dying and their lives have been permanently changed. “
Goodridge said the project will be completed in four years.
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