A man coughing in the row of airplane seats ahead. A teenager who tried on clothes in a store’s change room moments ago. A co-worker talking on speakerphone in a crowded office.
However you thought of these scenarios before COVID-19, it’s likely your perspective has changed since the global pandemic.
The same goes for governments and companies, large and small, that spent the last four years searching for products and strategies to protect people from airborne pathogens like COVID – on airlines, on buses, in the office or elsewhere.
Enter Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s soon-to-be-built Pathogen Research Centre, the first in Canada, and one of only a few in the world with the capability to study virus and bacterial transmission and antimicrobial resistance safely in “real-world” conditions.
Eric Arts, professor and Canada Research Chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control
“Pandemics are only going to continue to increase in frequency,” said Eric Arts, professor and Canada Research Chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control. “By building on the world-leading expertise and tools we have at Western, we’re going to improve our country’s ability to respond to emerging health threats and protect the health of Canadians.”
During the pandemic, Western University’s existing high-containment-level facility – the Imaging Pathogens for Knowledge Translation facility, known as ImPaKT – fueled critical infectious disease research that informed Ontario and Canada’s public health response. This included developing a highly successful waste-water testing program that has become a global model.
Now, with significant backing from the federal and provincial governments, the same powerhouse team is establishing a $30-million facility that will be a beacon for industry partnerships and government collaborations on the world stage.
Recognizing most existing small-scale labs can’t replicate “real world” conditions for how infectious diseases are transmitted, it will include a large-scale Containment Level 3 microbial transmission facility. Here scientists can investigate how factors like temperature, air currents and humidity impact aerosol transmission.
With unprecedented scale and validity, they’ll be able to test how effective air purifiers, masks and other personal protective equipment are at preventing infections, using “respirating” mannequins with artificial breathing and mock lungs. The mannequins can be strategically placed in offices, airplane cabins or surgical suites within a Containment Level 3 enclosure.
“This is going to be ground zero for industry leaders, government and public health officials looking for expertise and tools to inform their strategies around infectious diseases,” said Arts. “Not only will we be able to study virus transmission and antimicrobial strategies, we’re also including a Good Manufacturing Practice facility where we can develop, test and produce promising therapeutics and vaccines right here at home.”
This will enhance Canada and Ontario’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology capacity, Arts said, reducing the need to outsource vaccine production to other countries in the future – a critical gap that was highlighted during COVID-19.
“With this new facility, Western University is going to be‘open for business’ ... to ensure our country and our world are prepared for the next major health threat.”
—Eric Arts, professor and Canada Research Chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control
“With this new facility, Western University is going to be ‘open for business,’ collaboration and partnership like never before, to ensure our country and our world are prepared for the next major health threat,” said Arts.
Construction on the facility begins this year, with an anticipated opening in 2026.
