Collaborations and Links

Anonymized Data Linkage: A tool for maximizing blood safety and public health while protecting privacy.

Project Leader: Mel Krajden, BCCDC

Co-investigators: L Forrester, M Bigham, B Copley, J Buxton, E Sawatsky, P Johal, H Hume, S Vamvakas, J Isaac-Renton, S Mukhi.

Funders: Canadian Blood Services, Ministry of Health

The public health and blood systems in Canada are currently not sufficiently integrated to support effective inter-organizational information sharing for the timely detection, verification and coordinated response to emerging threats to public health and blood safety. The goal of this project is to develop an integrated monitoring system for maximizing blood safety for the province of BC using West Nile Virus as model. Our objectives are to establish strategic partnerships among the main stakeholders for blood safety in the province and develop a mechanism and anonymized data linkage tool for inter-organizational sharing of relevant information that respects and strengthens privacy and conforms to privacy legislation. There is no program like this in Canada and the technology developed can be applied to other threats to blood safety.The results of this project will lead to more rapid implementation of best prevention and care practices leading to improved health protection within a privacy-enhanced environment.

Functional Genomics for Emerging Infectious Diseases - PREPARE Project

Project Leaders: Brett Finlay, UBC, Robert Brunham, BCCDC, Neil Reiner, UBC
Funders: Genome Canada & Genome BC
URL: www.prepare.med.ubc.ca

As newspaper headlines reveal almost on a daily basis, we as a global community are constantly waging battles to combat infectious diseases that threaten health and reduce productivity. Worldwide, infectious diseases are the leading cause of premature mortality. In Canada they are the fifth leading cause of premature loss of life and a major cause of lost economic productivity. Despite outstanding historical successes such as the elimination of smallpox, the near elimination of polio, and the introduction of many highly effective vaccines, battles against infectious diseases continue to be fought.

Emerging (and re-emerging) infectious diseases (EID) such as SARS, influenza, West Nile, BSE, pathogenic E. coli , tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS cause severe health and economic crises, and are arguably the most serious and immediate threats to the health of populations locally, nationally and internationally. As a global scientific community we possess the expertise and the tools to address these threats, but thus far these critical intellectual and technological resources have not been organized in a focused and coordinated manner to facilitate effective responses and scientific solutions. To address this critical need, this proposal describes the Functional Genomics for Emerging Infectious Diseases project, known also as the PREPARE project (PRoteomics for Emerging PAthogen REsponse). PREPARE is an integrated research program that will rapidly identify targets in microbial pathogens leading to novel, therapeutics and vaccines for EID.

PREPARE's specific aim is to identify microbial drug and vaccine targets through the study of protein interaction networks and by the application of novel computational genomics. We anticipate that the researchers will interact on a continuous basis by sharing experimental approaches to study different pathogens and using different genome-wide approaches to study common pathogens. The targets identified by PREPARE will serve as a basis for the development of new therapeutics and vaccines for EID. Based upon these studies and the research environment and infrastructure created, PREPARE will be positioned to rapidly deploy its scientific expertise to respond to new EID threats. The latter capability will be particularly important when a new infectious agent emerges. We assert that genomic expertise provides the foundation for rapid response science and will strengthen Canada's preparedness for emerging infectious diseases. Genomic knowledge on emerging pathogens will be of value to and will create commercial opportunities for biotechnology and pharmaceutical enterprises. Research carried out by PREPARE will be focused on emerging and re-emerging pathogens of great public health importance. This will ensure that genomic competence is continually available at times of urgent need to respond to the challenge of EID as they appear. Thus a major outcome of PREPARE will be to establish the capacity to respond to newly emerging infectious agents such that scientific solutions can be rapidly developed for new threats, as they arise.

Vietnam HIV/AIDS Community Clinics Network Project (HCCN)

Canadian Executing Agency: British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)
Vietnam Sponsor: Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)
Project Director: Michael Rekart, Director, STD/AIDS Control, BCCDC

HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates are increasing in southern Vietnam due to increasing drug use (heroin injection) and because young girls from the Mekong Delta are working in the sex trade in Cambodia (Phnom Penh) and then returning to Vietnam. The goal of this project is to contribute to the reduction of poverty through improved access to basic social and infrastructure services by the poor. Outcomes of this project include:

• Network of clinics: Increased access to treatment and prevention of STIs and increased capacity of healthcare providers to deliver services and administer clinics
• Street Youth: Increased knowledge about STIs and HIV/AIDS and decreased risk behaviour
• Capacity: Improved capacity to make informed policy and programming decisions through technical and administrative capacity building

This is being achieved through a core network of 12 STI/HIV/AIDS clinics and outreach services in four southern Vietnam provinces serving vulnerable groups (sex workers, injection drug users (IDUs), youth), an increased capacity of local healthcare providers to manage STIs and to administer clinics, increased knowledge of STIs, HIV/AIDS, commercial sex, drug use and safer sexual activity among at-risk youth and improved data analysis and enhanced epidemiology skills among HASO.

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Animal Determinants of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Centre for Coastal Health

Associate Member UBC CDC: Craig Stephen
URL: web.mala.bc.ca/cch

The Animal Determinants of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ADEID) research unit works in collaboration with The Centre for Coastal Health (CCH) and was made possible through funding from the Michael Smith Foundation. ADEID’s vision was to gain a greater understanding of the causative mechanisms of disease emergence, develop strategies to prevent emerging diseases, and implement programs to improve the general health of the public through research targeting human interactions with animals and their shared environments.

Dr. C. Stephens is a UBC CDC Associate Member and heads up the Animal Determinants of Emerging Infectious Diseases project at CCH.

Building on successful experience utilizing existing physical infrastructure support, and working with CCH – an organization with the foundation of a national network of researchers in environmental and veterinary public health – the Animal Determinants of Emerging Infectious Diseases research unit aims:

• To sustain a nationally recognized research unit that explicitly addresses animal determinants of emerging human disease,
  
• To provide an academic focus for veterinary public health research in Canada,
  
• To increase our capacity to identify and manage conditions that facilitate the transmission of emerging agents from animals to people,
  
• To provide a critical mass of skilled people capable of identifying and investigating situations that present high risks for disease emergence and fro outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.

The UBC CDC and CCH interactions have, until recently been ad hoc. Now, with the awarding of the Michael Smith Foundation award to the CCH, there are more resources to link UBC CDC personnel with CCH projects such as developing a research unit examining the determinants of emerging infectious diseases (including co-sponsoring zoonotic disease working group meetings, support of grad students and collaboration on grants).

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Inflammation & Ovarian Cancer

Principal Investigator: Roberta Ness, University of Pittsburgh
Co-Investigator: Robert Brunham, University of British Columbia

This is a multi site case - control study of the relationship between inflammation and ovarian carcinoma. Over a 5 year period 900 cases and 1800 controls are to be enrolled in 3 contiguous regions of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. The role that the Brunham laboratory plays in this study is the measurement of serum antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis heat shock 60 protein (GroEL). In prior studies we have demonstrated that these antibodies are correlated with severe pelvic inflammation following pelvic inflammatory disease and in a small pilot study with Dr. R. Ness (the PI on this study) it was found that such antibodies are also correlated with ovarian cancer. Since this project was initiated, the Brunham laboratory has been producing recombinant C.trachomatis Hsp60 protein and optimizing the ELISA assay used to measure serum antibodies to the protein.

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