• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

2015-2016 VIDO-INTERVAC ANNUAL REPORT THE HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH INTERFACE TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMITMENT TO LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION Leonard Edwards – Board Chair 4 THE CHANGING NATURE OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES Andrew Potter – Director and CEO 6 MEETING CHALLENGES AT THE HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERFACE Volker Gerdts – Associate Director of Research 8 ENHANCING OUR GLOBAL IMPACT Paul Hodgson – Associate Director of Business Development 10 CONNECTING PEOPLE TO COMBAT EMERGING DISEASES Joyce Sander – Associate Director of Human Resources 12 ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE Cam Ewart – Associate Director of Operations and Maintenance 14 FUNDING SUPPORTS RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Lorne Vanin – Associate Director of Finance 16 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 18 COMMUNITY LIAISON COMMITTEE REPORT Susan Lamb – Community Liaison Committee Chair 20 VIDO-INTERVAC CONTRIBUTORS (BACK COVER) VISION PROTECTING CANADA AND THE WORLD FROM INFECTIOUS DISEASES MISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND DEVELOP VACCINES AND RELATED PRODUCTS, WITH KEY NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF HUMAN AND ANIMAL DISEASE VIDO-INTERVAC TEAM SCIENTISTS FROM 25+ NATIONS WORKING TOGETHER TO ADVANCE INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH F K E J LEN EDWARDS Board Chair VIDO-INTERVAC 2015-2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS A D I O The University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon is The organization’s work in this respect will be home to VIDO-InterVac, one of Canada’s leading greatly facilitated by its large-animal containment research institutions active in the fields of human facility, critical for dealing with animal diseases and animal health. As a reflection of its origins and providing modeling for human disease and its primary sources of funding, VIDO-InterVac research. This facility is unique to Canada and COMMITMENTworks toTO serve national, provincial and local features internationally recognized state-of-the-art communities, and engages both public and containment for level 3 pathogens. C H N LEADERSHIP ANDprivate INNOVATION sector clients. As a growing presence internationally, the organization promotes I urge readers to explore this annual report to Canada’s innovation credentials and interests learn more about the important health, social through both public and private partnerships— and economic benefits that VIDO-InterVac’s emerging diseases know no borders. research will have in dealing with threats to both animal and human health in the years ahead. Q Following our 40th Anniversary celebrations in B M G September 2015, VIDO-InterVac’s team of scientists, It has been an honour to be the chair of the researchers, technicians and administrators Board of Directors for 2015–16 and to bring this look forward to further decades of innovation message from my colleagues on the board. and leadership in vaccine and vaccine delivery As the board carries out its responsibilities, we research. That leadership will focus on finding are committed to working with the Director and vaccine solutions relevant to both human and CEO of VIDO-InterVac, Dr. Andrew Potter, and animal health. Given the evidence that animal L P the women and men at VIDO-InterVac to ensure pathogens are the source of most of today’s this remarkable institution continues to enjoy emerging infectious diseases in humans, the pre-eminence in the vaccine field and provide A REJEAN BOUCHARD – ON J JOHN LACLARE – SK organization will explore this critical interface Saskatchewan, Canada and the world with B PETER BRENDERS – ON K TIPPI MAK – SINGAPORE more than ever. C KAREN CHAD – SK L RORY MCALPINE – ON leading solutions for the protection of both D ROBERT CLARKE – ON M TERRANCE OLEKSYN – SK animal and human health. E ALASTAIR CRIBB – AB N FRANK PLUMMER – ON F LEONARD EDWARDS (CHAIR) – ON O ANDREW POTTER – SK G DOUGLAS FREEMAN – SK P RYAN THOMPSON – SK H BILL KAY – BC Q CRAIG VANDERWAGEN – USA I JEROME KONECSNI – SK 4 THE CHANGING NATURE OF ANDREW POTTER INFECTIOUS Director and CEO The past year was the 40th anniversary of VIDO- research includes projects involving pathogens InterVac. Looking back, it has been interesting that have not yet entered Canada but are a potential to reflect on the changing nature of infectious threat. These have included collaborative projects DISEA SES disease and the evolution of the organization. on African swine fever, Congo Crimean hemorrhagic Infectious diseases continue to be a significant fever, and Middle East respiratory syndrome, to burden on both human and animal health and name but a few. This research is enabled by the more than ever, these diseases and our response VIDO-InterVac containment level 3 facility. Over its to them are in the public eye. initial two year operational period, the containment level 3 facility has hosted over 23 research groups We continue to see the emergence of new pathogens and 43 individuals, including both public and private and the re-emergence of others. More often than sector researchers focused on the development not, outbreaks are zoonotic, involving transmission of tools for the prevention and control of Porcine from animals to humans. Globalization has played epidemic diarrhea virus. After the virus entered a key role in the rapid spread of disease, and Canada in January 2014, Dr. Gerdts and a team of the merging of rural and urban communities has our researchers developed a vaccine in less than resulted in many new threats. Current travel and 18 months and the vaccine has since been licensed trade practices mean pathogens can be transmitted to a private-sector manufacturer. This is exactly what to any global destination in less than a day. Many the InterVac facility was envisioned to accomplish. of these pathogens have always been present, but the mixing of rural and urban populations has Last year, we completed an external review of our resulted in greater risks to both animals and research activities, a process we carry out every humans. As such, international trade has become a five years. The external review confirmed the overall driving force in infectious disease research. One scientific excellence of our organization and need only look at the effect a small number of cases provided useful perspectives that will influence of prion-related disease have had on Canadian future activities as the organization continues to cattle producers to see the enormity of the impact. mature. We look forward to the challenges of the future and the role that VIDO-InterVac will play Historically, we have reacted to the emergence of in protecting the health and economic livelihood new diseases rather than proactively developing of humans and animals. mitigation strategies. Therefore, VIDO-InterVac 6 MEETING CHALLENGES AT THE HUMAN-ANIMAL INTERFACE VOLKER GERDTS Associate Director of Research Our 2015–2016 fiscal year was an exciting year for largest in Canada, was built for this purpose, and, two new Influenza is another disease originating in the human-animal with international partners and are linked to human health VIDO-InterVac. Over the last 18 months, the organization scientists joined our team over the last 15 months to interface. Outbreaks around the world and the regular challenges. Often, effective vaccines are not available or developed and commercialized a novel vaccine against strengthen our capacity to respond to emerging threats. emergence of new types of flu viruses make this disease fail to distinguish infected from vaccinated animals. In the Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus, an emerging of special importance. For example, most avian influenza partnership with several laboratories, Dr. Andrew Potter swine disease responsible for the deaths of over eight Dr. Darryl Falzarano is developing novel vaccine technologies viruses are not dangerous to people. However, highly and his team are using reverse vaccinology to develop novel million pigs in the last two years. This vaccine was licensed for coronaviruses, an important family of viruses that pathogenic viruses that emerge through recombination vaccines against bovine tuberculosis and Johne’s disease. to a European-headquartered pharmaceutical company. includes the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and reassortment in pigs or ducks have the potential to Studying tuberculosis in cattle may reveal insights into Thousands of doses were produced in-house and made virus, MERS-CoV, and PED virus, to name a few. Over the cause severe pandemics in humans. With financial support human tuberculosis, which could aid in the development available to veterinarians coping with outbreaks in last twelve months, VIDO-InterVac helped establish a from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Dr. Yan Zhou of novel vaccines. Similarly, VIDO-InterVac is establishing southern Manitoba. The speed with which the vaccine novel animal model for MERS-CoV, and, in collaboration and her group are working on novel vaccine technologies a pig model for human tuberculosis, which can be used was developed attests VIDO-InterVac’s ability to rapidly with researchers in the Middle East, is currently developing that could be used against a wide range of influenza to study the underlying transmission mechanisms of this respond to emerging diseases. novel vaccines against the disease. viruses. Work with these highly pathogenic viruses is important disease. Dr. Jeff Chen, who was hired in 2014 restricted to VIDO-InterVac’s containment level 3 facility. to establish a tuberculosis program at VIDO-InterVac, Another prominent example of a recent emerging disease Most emerging diseases originate at the human-animal leads this project. interface.

Load more

  13

Copy Link