Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

Gonorrhea infection poses a significant public health threat and is the second most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) both internationally and in Canada. In 2009 Saskatchewan had the highest gonorrhea rate of any province, and well over double the rate in many other provinces. Gonorrhea and other STIs are not uniformly distributed across sexually active populations. Rather, transmission patterns reflect sexual networks and inter-relationships within defined groups of people. Analysis of these networks can reveal key individuals or core groups responsible for sustaining infection within the network and indicate the best targets for intervention. The objective of this research is to link molecular data (information about transmission of specific strains) and traditional epidemiological data (contact tracing, social network analysis) to develop a new approach that will improve understanding of gonorrhea transmission patterns in populations. Analysis of this information will reveal transmission patterns, significant risk factors for transmission, and effectiveness of current and potential strategies for prevention and treatment. Molecular and epidemiological data from China has already been collected and analysis is underway. Molecular data from Saskatchewan also exists; the next phase of the project involves collecting the epidemiological data for Saskatchewan. The existence of two datasets allows for comparison of the techniques developed through this research to determine their applicability on a global scale. The high rate of gonorrhea and rapid rise of other sexually transmitted diseases-including HIV-in Saskatchewan highlights the importance of understanding transmission dynamics and using this information to develop better prevention and treatment protocols in the province, the country, and internationally.