Grant: Catalyst Grant: Pandemic Outbreak Team Leader

The threat posed by the emergence of the highly pathogenic strain of influenza A has been met with an abundance of preemptive scientific research to prepare for a pandemic. However, it is equally important that Canada¿s top researchers are accessible at the advent of a pandemic to adapt and develop public health measures as the pandemic progresses. The objective of this application is to bring together the required leadership and expertise to create a predictive integrated framework that will strengthen Canada¿s pandemic response both at the beginning, as well as throughout the duration of a pandemic. The threat posed by the emergence of the highly pathogenic strain of influenza A has been met with an abundance of preemptive scientific research to prepare for a pandemic. However, it is equally important that Canada¿s top researchers are accessible at the advent of a pandemic to adapt and develop public health measures as the pandemic progresses. The objective of this application is to bring together the required leadership and expertise to create a predictive integrated framework that will strengthen Canada¿s pandemic response both at the beginning, as well as throughout the duration of a pandemic. This application will yield a national network that leverages tremendous expertise in EID modeling and positions Canada at the forefront in terms of outbreak research and rational planning for EIDs. With the latest mathematical techniques and the most advanced computational technologies at their disposal, this team, under the proposed leadership, can significantly improve Canada¿s response to any potential threat from emerging infections, both nationally and internationally.