Canada Excellence Research Chair in Biology and Control of Zoonotic and Pandemic Respiratory Viruses
Chaires d’excellence en recherche du Canada
Domain(s):
- Sciences de la santé et de l’alimentation
Kanta Subbarao
Full Professor
Faculté de médecine
Former Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Prof Subbarao is one of the most influential international leaders in the field of respiratory viruses, focused on the biology, pathogenesis, immune responses and vaccines against influenza and zoonotic coronaviruses. She is editorial board member of the several key scientific associations and journals in the field of infectious diseases and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, the American Academy of Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The excellence of her career accomplishments is matched by her capacity to translate biomedical research into clinical practice and policies.
Chair expertise
Virus respiratoires émergents
Potentiel pandémique
Virulence
Transmission par voie aérienne
Zoonose
Grippe
Coronavirus
Objectives
The Canada Excellence Research Chair on Pandemic Respiratory Viruses focuses on influenza A and coronaviruses, two virus families that are listed as prototype priority pathogens by the WHO, NIH and UK Vaccines networks. The research program explores features of the viruses, host and environment that enable novel respiratory pathogens to emerge and spread and will investigate mitigation measures including non-pharmaceutical approaches to reduce opportunities for emergence or of airborne spread and medical countermeasures including drugs that target the virus or host and vaccines. This translational research program will build cross-disciplinary links between virology, mechanical engineering, aerosol biology, and clinical research. Dr. Subbarao’s team will partner with veterinarians and ecologists (One Health) at the animal-human interface and with colleagues in academia and industry on the development and evaluation of drugs and vaccines.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to truly remarkable scientific achievements, but it took a massive toll on health and economies globally, and exposed knowledge gaps that must be addressed to better prepare for future pandemics. The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses in wild birds, with spillover into small mammals in Europe and North America and now, dairy cows in the USA is an urgent reminder that the next pandemic could occur at any time. Although the focus of pandemic preparedness planning has been on influenza viruses in the past, SARS, MERS and SARS-CoV-2 have highlighted the public health consequences of zoonotic coronaviruses. Animal viruses pose a pandemic threat if they cross the species barrier to infect humans and spread efficiently from person to person in a susceptible population. Prevention and control of future respiratory virus pandemics can be enhanced by understanding the determinants of cross species transfer and efficient person to person spread of the virus(es), virus biology, virus-host interactions and mucosal and systemic immune responses to infection.
Mission
As the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Biology and Control of Zoonotic and Pandemic Respiratory Viruses, Kanta Subbarao will bring her expertise and experience as a physician scientist to focus on virus biology, virus-host interactions, and immune responses to infection by influenza A viruses and coronaviruses.
Research impacts
The Canada Excellence Research Chair on Pandemic Respiratory Viruses will contribute to train the next generation of scientists with a holistic approach in virology and will inform and strengthen public health efforts to anticipate and prepare for the emergence of new influenza and corona viruses and the pandemic threat that they pose. This research program aligns with the priority research of the Canadian government on Healthy Canadians, with an emphasis on preventing emerging public health threats and future pandemics and supporting Canada’s readiness for health emergencies.