Modelling suggests advanced age does not have a strong effect on immune response once comorbidities are controlled for

Thinking about getting a spring-time booster shot? coming out of 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Disease Modelling in the Faculty of Science shows that immunity after a COVID-19 booster lasts much longer than the primary series alone. These findings are among other, sometimes 鈥渦nintuitive,鈥� revelations of how factors like age, sex and comorbidities do and don鈥檛 affect immune response.

The study鈥檚 authors 鈥� 91亚色 Post Doctoral researchers Chapin Korosec and David Dick, Applied Mathematics Professor Iain Moyles and Professor James Watmough with the University of New Brunswick 鈥� used health data submitted to the Covid Immunity Task-Force project for more than 150 individuals who received either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to look at how immunity holds up over time.

鈥淥ur approach as mathematicians is to create mathematical models of the immune system, and then calibrate those models to health care data in order to advance our understanding of the human immune system. It was really interesting to see the SARS-CoV-2 booster dose have such a huge increase in protective longevity capacity as compared to the primary series of two doses,鈥� says Korosec, the study鈥檚 lead author.

Published today in the journal Scientific Reports, the study used Canadian vaccine data collected from individuals living in long-term care, as well as frontline health-care workers working in long-term care and hospitals.

Looking at the group as a whole, the median length for the antibody half-life immune response was 63 days for the primary series, and increased to 115 days for those who went on to receive their boosters, a statistically significant finding, says Korosec.

It is well-established that age can affect how adept the body is at priming an immune response after vaccines, so much so that advanced age is considered a comorbidity itself, says Korosec.

鈥淐hronological age is your time since birth. But you also have an immunological age, which is correlated to your chronological age, and is related to how your body loses its ability to prime against invading pathogens and produce antibodies as time marches on,鈥� explains Korosec. 鈥淲hat's convoluted is that as we age chronologically, the probability that we accrue diseases that can affect the immune system in unintuitive ways also increases.鈥�

Looking into this aspect, the researchers found that older adults did have a less long-lasting immune response, but once they controlled for other comorbidities such as hypertension, lung disease and cancer, age no longer had as significant of an influence on the immune response.

Other interesting findings include a small, but statistically significant immune response for males versus females, and people with asthma having a longer lasting immune response 鈥� more durable, in fact, than those with hybrid immunity from vaccines and contracting COVID-19.

鈥淲e found that some outcomes were surprising and worth further study, but of course we're not advocating any particular comorbidity is beneficial,鈥� says Dick. 鈥淲e don't have any information from this study on how asthma would affect the severity of the COVID-19 illness, for example.鈥�

Outside of the strict findings, the researchers also say the study points to the importance of interdisciplinary research and are excited about the possibilities for collaboration, with plans to open 91亚色鈥檚 medical school in 2028.

鈥淲hile we鈥檙e all from math and stats departments, the data comes from clinicians who went through medical school and are now professors studying immunology, and I think this study shows how people with different skill sets can come together and do really interesting science,鈥� says Korosec.

Adds Moyles: 鈥淲e have a really top applied math program at 91亚色, and now the university has announced a medical school. Imagine these clinicians were at 91亚色 and we had access to the data on the ground floor. This would cut the research timeline by years and has huge potential for future interdisciplinary research at the university.鈥�

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Those countries with the highest rates of severe infections also had the highest rates of reported cases

A new analysis of COVID-19 cases in Africa shows that for most of the continent鈥檚 countries the rate of infection was likely much higher than reported in the initial stages, found 91亚色 researchers.

Case counts reported by most African countries suggest the virus spread slowly during the early part of the pandemic, but the researchers say those numbers likely didn鈥檛 capture the true extent of the spread.

鈥淭he low reporting numbers was likely due to a lack of public awareness, public health resources, monitoring practices, testing availability and stigma,鈥� says Faculty of Science Professor Jude Kong, senior author of the paper and director of the (AI4PEP).

To get a better handle on the real number of those infected, the researchers used an epidemiological mathematical model, along with observed data, for 54 countries in Africa to estimate the number of hidden infections. Data on cumulative number of cases and daily confirmed cases were used to build an epidemic profile for Africa of the initial stage of COVID-19.

What may be most surprising is the estimation that some 66 per cent of all infections in Africa were asymptomatic, while about five per cent were severe and about 27 per cent were mild.

鈥淎frica is primarily comprised of a young population so it鈥檚 possible there were fewer cases, less severe symptoms or more people with asymptomatic symptoms than in a population that has a higher percentage of seniors,鈥� says Postdoctoral Fellow Qing Han, lead researcher on the paper. 鈥淭his suggests the possibility of a lower rate of detection of the virus.鈥�

The researchers found that the basic reproduction number (R0) in each country was much higher than when only reported cases were used as the average overall case reporting rate was low 鈥� estimated at about five per cent continent-wide 鈥� in the early stages for each country. They estimate that the real mean R0 is 2.02 compared to the reported R0 of 0.17 and ranged from 1.12 in Zambia and 3.64 in Nigeria.

鈥淐ounties that showed a R0 of less than one, which basically means there was no outbreak, likely have a much higher true R0. Not investigating the underreported figures could cause an underestimation of the severity and magnitude of the epidemic locally in each country,鈥� says Han.

Those countries with the highest number of severe infections also tended to have the highest reported cases and those with the lowest severe infections generally had the lowest report rate. The researchers say the predicted true numbers of cumulative cases are high above what was reported for all countries with Sudan and Gambia reporting collectively most at 27 per cent and 22 per cent, while most countries reported less than five per cent.

Northern and southern African countries had higher reporting rates compared to central Africa, which could be explained in part by higher health-care spending in the north and south regions. Libya topped all the African countries for having the most nurses and physicians per 1,000 people.

鈥淭he estimated low reporting rates in most African countries point to a need for improved reporting and surveillance systems especially for central Africa,鈥� says Kong, co-executive director of the .

The paper, , was published today in the Royal Society Open Science Journal.

The work was funded by under the Global South AI4COVID Program.

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Media Release from September 12, 2023

A 91亚色-led program is helping bolster health care in the Global South by providing more than $5.8 million in funding for 16 projects in as many countries, including polio surveillance in Ethiopia and helping Indigenous communities in the Philippines.

鈥淲e have led the call to strengthen the health-care system in low- and medium-income countries (LMIC) in the Global South for more than a year now,鈥� says 91亚色 Assistant Professor , executive director of the . Originally from Cameroon, Kong understands the strains faced by health-care systems in LMIC and the importance of southern-led solutions.

鈥淔unding these projects will help strengthen capacity and support prevention, early detection, preparedness, mitigation and control of emerging or re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks in LMIC countries in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East, which, as we know, can make their way to every country in the world.鈥�

Incidents of disease outbreaks are expected to increase in severity and frequency as more viruses, bacteria and parasites jump from animals to people.

AI4PEP received $7.25 million in funding from the International Development Research Centre in 2022 to develop a multi-regional, interdisciplinary network to use AI and big data to improve public health preparedness and response, and promote equitable and ethical solutions.

After a recent call for proposals, the team received 221 submissions from 47 countries with 142 of them from Africa, 40 from Asia, 26 from Latin America. The overall program framework centers around a gender, equity, inclusion and decolonization lens.

鈥淎I4PEP at 91亚色 is deepening the understanding of how equitable and responsibly designed artificial intelligence can lead to southern-led solutions to strengthen public health-care systems in the Global South,鈥� says Vinitha Gengatharan, assistant vice-president, global engagement and partnerships. 鈥淭his is just the start of a growing, multi-regional network to improve and strengthen public health preparedness and response to disease outbreaks that can make a real difference in the lives of people.鈥�

The projects are led by universities in collaboration with health-care system stakeholders in 16 regions of the Global South. They include AI and modelling for community-based detection of zoonotic disease with increasing climate change in Senegal; a Foundation for Medical Research-University of Mumbai project; an AI-powered early detection system for communicable respiratory diseases based on integrated data sets at Wits University in South Africa; an Al-Quds University project; and an AI and eco-epidemiology-based early warning systems to improve public health response to mosquito-borne viruses in the Dominican Republic. .

鈥淭he funding for our project, named AutoAI-Pandemics, will enable the development of a cutting-edge and user-friendly platform, driven by responsible artificial intelligence practices, to deal with the challenges of infectious diseases, in particular, control of epidemics and pandemics. Current advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in robust solutions for epidemiological analysis, bioinformatics, and misinformation detection, while actively combating biases and ensuring fairness,鈥� says Professor Andr茅 C. Ponce de Leon F. de Carvalho of the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, University of S茫o Paulo at S茫o Carlos, Brazil.

鈥淭hanks to this funding, we have the opportunity to contribute to the efforts to fight epidemics and improve human health. By collectively fortifying our defenses against infectious diseases, we can make a lasting impact on global health with increasing equity and equality. We also believe that this research will bring relevant scientific contributions in the areas of artificial intelligence and bioinformatics.鈥�

As diseases increasingly spreading from animals to people with continued human encroachment into natural landscapes, AI4PEP鈥檚 One Health concept is designed to recognize and respond to the reality that human health is interdependent with the health of animals and the environment. Climate change is another huge factor.

鈥淐limate change is exacerbating existing health and social inequities by increasing the vulnerability of climate hotspots to the emergence and re-emergence of many infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever and zika,鈥� says Associate Professor of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. 鈥淭his is a huge initiative, but with the support of many of 91亚色鈥檚 research institutes, including the 91亚色 Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Response and Governance Institute directed by Distinguished Research Professor , as well as CIFAL and the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, I believe we can all collaborate with this exceptional global network to respond to the increasing threat of infectious diseases.鈥�

AI solutions and data science approaches are increasingly being used across the globe to identify risks, conduct predictive modelling, and provide evidence-based recommendations for public health policy and action.

鈥淩esponding to the complex nature of these interactions in a timely way requires the ability to analyze large data sets across multiple sectors,鈥� says Kong of the Faculty of Science and director of the Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium.

But even with the promised good of these innovative tools to improve public health outcomes, the team recognizes there are important ethical, legal, and social implications that, if not appropriately managed and governed, can translate into significant risks to individuals and populations. AI4PEP intends to deepen the understanding of designing responsible AI solutions.

鈥淩esponsible AI entails intentional design to enhance health equity and gender equality and avoid amplifying existing inequalities and biases. We are working toward the realization of the United Nation鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, three and five 鈥� good health and well-being, and gender equality,鈥� says Kong. 鈥淐olonialism and gendered oppression have enduring effects, disproportionately impacting the health and quality of life of formerly colonized people and vulnerable groups, including women, gender non-conforming people, people with disabilities, rural communities, and low-income households.鈥�

Projects within the initiative will work closely with governments, public health agencies, civil society and others to generate new knowledge and collaborations to inform practice and policies at subnational, national, regional and global levels.

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Risk and Insurance Studies Centre at 91亚色 team receives more than $11M to develop a better way to manage risk and protect Canadians from increasing threats.

Controlling systemic risks from things like financial and geopolitical crises, pandemics and natural disasters is vital to protect Canadians, but as researchers at the (RISC) at 91亚色 researchers argue there is an acute need for a fundamental transformation in how people think about and manage that risk.

91亚色 Professor and his team at RISC received more than $11 million in funding over five years through a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate grant and contributions from partners and industry for a new program called - New Order of Risk Management (NORM): Theory and Applications in the Era of Systemic Risk.

"Risk management is key to promoting economic growth and improving welfare in Canada and in other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries by taming conventional risks, but it has not had the desired results in today鈥檚 increasingly interconnected world. In fact, some call it a failure," says Furman of 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science. "We hope to lead a paradigm shift around what constitutes best practices and regulation for systemic risk, one that has a broader view of what risk entails and that encompasses the complexity of its systemic nature."

Given recent socioeconomic, demographic, technological and environmental changes, the researchers say change is overdue.

Systemic risks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the global financial crisis which started in 2007, often spill across socioeconomic boundaries, disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations and magnifying social inequities. The pandemic has already driven Canada鈥檚 annual deficit to $348 billion and is on target to hit $1.2 trillion, while the global financial crisis resulted in a severe recession with sharp declines in national Gross Domestic Product.

Climate change is creating multiple systemic risks as sea levels rise, wildfire season becomes longer with a greater potential for catastrophic fires, and extreme weather events increase, such as flash flooding and storm surges, which can result in widespread devastation to coastal and inland communities in Canada and globally.

A better understanding of systemic risk is needed, says the NORM team, which includes 91亚色 Professors Jingyi Cao of the Faculty of Science, Ida Ferrara of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Dirk Matten of the Schulich School of Business, and Shayna Rosenbaum of the Faculty of Health, as well as professors from University of British Columbia - Harry Joe (Statistics); University of Toronto - Sheldon Lin (Actuarial Science) and Silvana Pesenti (Risk Management); University of Waterloo - Fan Yang (Actuarial Science); and Western University - Ricardas Zitikis (Statistics).

With their industrial collaborators, the NORM team will develop novel theories, operational tools, and regulatory mechanisms to address the increasing systemic nature of risks, while also accounting for unequal susceptibility to systemic risk, pursue equity and build resilience.

"NORM鈥檚 impacts mean not only an academic breakthrough in how we conceptualize systemic risk, but also fundamental transformations in how we manage and govern this new type of risk more effectively through strategies that reflect and consider equity and vulnerability," says Furman.

Systemic risk is a global threat. NORM brings exceptional depth and breadth of relevant scholarly expertise from actuarial mathematics, business, economics, psychology, and statistics together with industry collaborators, including Sun Life Financial, Canada Life, CANNEX Financial Exchanges, Aviva Canada, and Wawanesa Insurance, to tackles the issues.

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91亚色 researchers say assuming you have COVID-19 and isolating may decrease influenza and COVID-19 infections, and help an already stressed health-care system

Feeling sniffly, congested or have a sore throat and don't know if it's a cold, the flu or SARS-CoV-2? Researchers at 91亚色 say before heading to work or a restaurant, it's best to test first for COVID-19 and wear a mask.

New modelling research looks at the co-circulation dynamics of influenza and COVID-19 to understand the role of vaccines, testing speed and the use of personal protection strategies, such as masking, in helping to avert COVID-19 and the flu peaking at the same time.

The researchers, including 91亚色 Faculty of Science lead author and PhD student , senior author Assistant Professor , and Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the , found that increasing COVID-19 daily testing capacity delays the outbreak peak time and peak size, but increases the number of flu infections.

"The reason is that people don't need to isolate if they have the flu. By testing for COVID-19 early on, when symptoms first arise, people who test negative will continue to do their normal daily things, including heading to the office, even if they have the flu. That increases the time period when others could be infected," says Majeed.

鈥淎ssuming you have just the flu could increase not only the rate of influenza but COVID-19. On the other hand, assuming you have COVID-19 and isolating may decrease influenza and COVID-19 infections.鈥�

The study also found that if more people get their third or fourth booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, even if the influenza coverage is kept at about 35 per cent, which is average, it will delay the peak times for both COVID-19 and the flu.

"Delaying or diminishing peak time of either the flu or COVID-19 would provide a huge benefit for our already stressed health-care system," says Woldegerima. "Having COVID-19 and the flu co-circulating, especially as they have similar symptoms, can quickly overburden healthcare, as we've already seen, and slow testing and treatment."

As multiple highly contagious strains of SARS-CoV-2 continue to gain traction and circulate 鈥� especially ones that are better at evading the immune system and rendering vaccines less effective 鈥� the more likely there will be new waves of COVID-19 permeating a typical flu season.

In addition, the study found that if the more people were vaccinated against both, but particularly the flu vaccine, it would reduce the peak for COVID-19 and delay the peak time for both infections, significantly.

Mask wearing, however, coupled with a moderate increase in vaccine uptake may mitigate COVID-19 and prevent an influenza outbreak. As of their last available report covering the last week of December 2022, FluWatch Canada reported there were 2,841 lab-confirmed flu cases.

The researchers say their study has important practical implications for public-health policy as it shows effectively managing and controlling influenza and COVID-19 outbreaks in the same

season relies on optimal strategies for vaccine coverage.

The paper, Mitigating co-circulation of seasonal influenza and COVID-19 pandemic in the presence of vaccination: A mathematical modeling approach, is published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

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Professors H茅l猫ne Carabin and Jacques B茅lair from the Universit茅 de Montr茅al co-moderated the virtual event, and in attendance were network researchers, collaborators from across Canada and the U.S., representatives from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as fellow Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling (EIDM) networks. More than 20 speakers presented about recent research milestones. Further, 91亚色 postdoctoral fellow Pei Yuan presented on behalf of her winning group of the which included members Jeta Molla and Zahra Khanzad (91亚色), Harini Kapali (University of Victoria) and Aiyush Bansal (University of Toronto).

OMNI-R脡UNIS Director Huaiping Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, took the opportunity to thank everyone for all their support in his opening address on behalf of the network鈥檚 leadership team.

鈥淎s we continue implementing initiatives in the second and third year of the grant, it is ever so imperative that we keep striving towards the intended and long-term objective and mission of this network: to build a modelling network that will enhance Canada鈥檚 early detection, warning, and response to emerging infectious diseases using a One Health approach,鈥� said Zhu. 鈥淎s infectious diseases continue to emerge, addressing the interconnections between people, animals, plants, and their environment has become increasingly critical to our response and research.鈥�

Over the last year and a half, OMNI-R脡UNIS has made significant strides across various components of the network:

• twenty-two active projects within four core emerging infectious disease sub-themes: Data Management, Risk for Emergence and Spillover, Early Warning Systems for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Intervention and Control;
• capacity-building opportunities for highly qualified personnel and trainees in the EIDM consortium;
• knowledge-sharing events with renowned speakers; and
• network growth of the governing body and team.

As a One Health research network, OMNI-R脡UNIS teams are focused on building meaningful capacity as thought leaders in this space, to ensure the sustainability of the network, support knowledge users in public health, policy, and academia, and support decision-makers in helping to make public health decisions. During the next two years, the network will continue moving forward the impactful research of its existing projects across a number of current topics, expanding its geographic reach, increasing our collaboration with policymakers, and expanding its reach internationally.

CDM and 91亚色 are home to several network leads who have been instrumental in building up OMNI-R脡UNIS from its inception. They include:

• Huaiping Zhu (Faculty of Science), principal investigator and director of OMNI and CDM
• Jane Heffernan (Faculty of Science), highly qualified personnel training lead
• Iain Moyles (Faculty of Science), associate director and theme 4 co-leader (Intervention & Control)
• Hanna Jankowski (Faculty of Science), Chair of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Decolonization Committee
• Manos Papagelis (Lassonde), research lead theme 3 project (Early Warning Systems of EID)
• Jude Dzevela Kong (Faculty of Science), theme 3 co-leader (Early Warning Systems of EID)

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Rapid antigen tests, like the COVID-19 home test, use a technology called lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), where a biological sample is placed on a strip of paper-like membrane and flows along this membrane to display a positive or negative result, generally within a few minutes. This kind of test has many advantages, namely simplicity and low cost, and it鈥檚 used for a variety of other infectious diseases; but a major limitation of LFIA is its low sensitivity, giving too many false-negative results.

by a team of chemists at 91亚色 comprised of Banting Fellow Vasily Panferov and postdoctoral Fellow Nikita Ivanov and led by Distinguished Research Professor Sergey Krylov in the Department of Chemistry, has now addressed that limitation by inventing an enhancement step for LFIA, whereby the sensitivity is increased by 25 to near 100 per cent. This step could be performed by an untrained person, in a matter of two minutes.

鈥淚ncreasing diagnostic sensitivity of LFIA is an urgent and very important task in containing the spread of infections,鈥� said Krylov. 鈥淚f we think about COVID-19 for instance, about 40 per cent of those who are infected with the virus and have symptoms would test negative the first time. In a day or two, when the virus has multiplied to a very high level, they will get positive results, but it may be too late for preventing disease spread as the person may have not self-isolated.鈥�

Krylov鈥檚 team developed their enhanced test and proof of concept for the hepatitis B virus; they were able to increase the diagnostic sensitivity of LFIA from 73 to 98 per cent while not affecting its 95 per cent specificity. The test requires a tiny drop of finger-prick capillary blood, making it practical for use on babies born from infectious mothers, for example.

The team鈥檚 enhancement step involves a simple procedure with low-cost accessory equipment that could be done in a primary care setting or lab to generate quick and reliable results. It involves adding a standard nanoparticle mixture and applying voltage to the strip ends (a process called electrophoresis). The electric field moves the immunocomplexes through the test strip so that they pile up on each other, enhancing the signal on the test (a darker positive line if the person is infected).

鈥淭he test would be done in two stages: the patient does the test as they normally would, and then if it鈥檚 negative or faintly positive, the enhancement step is performed,鈥� said Krylov. 鈥淭his could significantly reduce the workload of hospital testing facilities and facilitate more affordable diagnostics in resource-limited settings.鈥�

Krylov noted that the same concept could be applied for sensitive testing in the food and beverage industry for contamination by toxins produced by bacteria.

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The 2022 Canada-China Symposium on Modeling, Prevention and Control of Zoonoses, organized by the Canadian Center for Disease Modeling at 91亚色, took place Nov. 11 to 16 and examined how zoonotic disease spreads through humans.

The 鈥�2022 Canada-China Symposium on Modeling, Prevention and Control of Zoonoses,鈥� which took place from Nov. 11 to 16 EST (Nov 12 -16, Beijing time UTC+8), co-organized by the Center for Disease Modeling (CDM), was a resounding success. As a collaborative CDM Canada-China program that takes place annually, this year the symposium focused on modelling, prevention and control of zoonoses (infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or prions that jump from animals to humans). The symposium brought together more than 100 experts and scholars from across Canada and China in the fields of mathematical modelling for infectious diseases, public health and veterinary public health.

The five-day was held virtually, and was jointly organized by the CDM, the Center for Mathematical Biosciences of Northeast Normal University, the China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center and the Chinese Society of Mathematical Biology.

This Canada-China event kicked off the first two days with focused, distinguished lectures given by global thought leaders and experts on topics covering the latest development and progress in the field. The remaining three days were filled with invited talks and panel discussions focused on the concept of 鈥渙ne health鈥� and promoting mathematical modeling research in solving practical problems by in-depth coordinated development in multidisciplinary fields, to prevent and control the occurrence and prevalence of zoonotic diseases. The seminar focused on hotspot issues of zoonotic diseases and included eight distinguished lectures, 26 invited talks and six panel discussions involving 22 scholars, which strengthened interdisciplinary and interdepartmental connectivity and cooperation among the scientific community on zoonotic disease modeling, prevention and control.

The 2022 Organizing Committee was co-chaired by 91亚色 Research Chair, Professor Huaiping Zhu, the director of CDM, and Professor Meng Fan, from Northeast Normal University in China The organizing committee included CDM members Julien Arino (University of Manitoba), Jacques Belair (University of Montreal), Jingan Cui (Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China), 91亚色 Mathematics and Statistics Professor Jane Heffernan, Zhen Jin (Shanxi University, China), Wendi Wang (Southwest University, China), Youming Wang (China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center), James Watmough (University of New Brunswick), and Yanni Xiao (Xi鈥檃n Jiaotong University, China). 91亚色 postdoc Pei Yuan and 91亚色 Program Manager Natasha Ketter were involved in the local supporting committee.

Heffernan, with 91亚色 Professors Jude Dzevela Kong, Iain Moyles, Woldegebriel Assefa Woldegerima and about 200 graduate students, postdocs and scholars also participated in the event.

The distinguished lectures provided a comprehensive and in-depth elaboration on the challenges, research hotspots, latest progress, prevention and control experience and reflections on the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases.

Kong, Moyles, Assefa Woldegerima and 23 speakers across Canada and China shared their latest research results and frontiers in zoonotic disease modeling, prevention and control, involving a variety of zoonotic diseases such as monkeypox, COVID-19, Lyme disease, Malaria, West Nile Virus fever, Ebola and Brucellosis.

The innovative organizing of the seminar broke down barriers of disciplines, strengthened the transformational connection between individual research, teamwork and scientific research institutions, and promoted the interdisciplinary benign interaction and multi-party cooperation in zoonotic disease modeling, prevention and control. The symposium is not only of great significance for innovating ideas on the prevention and control of zoonoses, but also a beneficial attempt for the deep integration of public health, veterinary public health, mathematical biology and other disciplines, making significant contributions to global research of 鈥渙ne health鈥� framework.

To learn more, visit .

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SDG 3: Good Health & Well-being

SUPPORTING TRAINING IN VACCINE PRODUCTION

SDG 4: Quality Education

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCES

SDG 5: Gender Equality

DEAN'S SCHOLARSHIP FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE SUPPORTS STUDENTS ENTERING GRADUATE STUDIES

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

YORK RESEARCH DELEGATION LEADS WATER SECURITY PANEL AT UN WATER CONFERENCE

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTISTS ANALYZE CITY'S AIR POLLUTION

SDG 14: Life Below Water

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON LAKES AND THEIR ECOSYSTEMS

SDG 15: Life on Land

ENHANCING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF BEES AND THEIR ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

COLLABORATING GLOBALLY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION

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