GUELPH – A new six-year training program co-led by researchers at the University of Guelph will use a One Health approach to build national capacity for the next pandemic – the first training of its kind in Canada.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research awarded U of G and other university, government and non-governmental organization partners $2.7 million to co-create the new bilingual training program, titled the Canadian One Health Training Program on Emerging Zoonoses (COHTPEZ).
COHPTEZ was co-designed with several university partners including York and Dalhousie Universities and the Universities of Montreal, Saskatchewan and Toronto, as well as other academic partners, provincial and federal government agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
It draws on the team’s research knowledge across diverse fields, their firsthand experience in responding to COVID-19, their unique disciplinary expertise and their lived experiences.
DR. JANE PARMLEY
At U of G, the project will be led by Dr. Jane Parmley, professor in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Population Medicine.
“The program will prepare Canada to identify and prevent disease threats, to limit their spread and impact on human and animal populations and to work collaboratively across disciplines and sectors to build health capacity,” U of G officials state.
“When the next pandemic hits – and it is a when, not an if – we can’t solve these complex health challenges on our own,” Parmley said. “It’s going to take collaboration and a willingness and commitment to learn from each other.”
Collaboration, co-leadership at forefront
Using One Health, an approach that looks at human, animal and ecosystem health holistically, the new COHTPEZ project is a vision of a connected community of leaders across academic, public and private sectors. It will build a highly skilled workforce that will learn from one another and see complex problems through a systems-level lens.
An annual symposium will also bring future leaders and mentors together – community members, professionals, university students and others – “creating new connections that pay off in a more collaborative network and co-learning experiences that can mobilize more innovative ideas,” officials state.
As part of those goals, mentorship, training and experiential learning opportunities will be developed in three key areas:
– health, sustainability and resilience;
– disease prevention; and
– disease preparedness and response
Parmley emphasizes success in these areas requires not just interdisciplinary collaboration, such as engineers working with doctors, but encouragement, support and opportunities to learn from Indigenous and traditional knowledge systems as well as lived experiences.
At the forefront of One Health is U of G, which houses the multidisciplinary One Health Institute, established in 2018.
‘Next pandemic needs creativity, collaboration’
As a veterinarian who later worked as an epidemiologist to monitor antimicrobial resistance and wildlife disease, Parmley has seen how disease surveillance systems are great at reacting to disease, but not being proactive about health.
Joining U of G, Parmley came to appreciate how the One Health approach facilitates interdisciplinary connections.
As the majority of emerging pathogens come from a wildlife source, she notes, future pandemics will impact more than just human health.
“The next pandemic won’t just need cutting-edge laboratories. It will need creativity and collaboration and the ability to bring together different ways of knowing,” Parmley states.
“We’re often just chasing the next disease outbreak, rather than focusing on building overall health and resilience. We cannot just think about preparing for the next pandemic. We have to create a future where humans, animals and our planet are healthier and more resilient.”
Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield said “The recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how important it is to understand zoonotic pathogens.
“I am pleased to see that the University of Guelph has received $2.7 million from the federal government to launch an early-career training program focused on infectious diseases. This will help to create a network of highly skilled Canadian researchers who will collaborate to prevent and respond to future threats caused by zoonotic pathogens.”
Dr. Rene Van Acker, vice-president (research and innovation), says U of G will use its leadership in One Health to bring an innovative approach that will allow Canada to be proactive about the next pandemic while improving life throughout the country.
“The investment not only prepares the next generation of leaders who can collaborate more effectively for the next pandemic but builds the necessary capacity and skills that the world needs now,” Van Acker states.
