Our Team
CoVaRR-Net brings together some of Canada’s most eminent researchers and experts in a variety of disciplines linked to emerging variants. By connecting this country’s best variants of concern-related research labs, this network ensures a rapid and coordinated response to this complicated facet of the pandemic.
Our team is structured by theme or “Pillars” which study and analyze a different biological aspect of variants. Pillar Leads are responsible for overseeing all Pillar activities and are supported by Deputies, who are experts in varied relevant disciplines, as well as research coordinators and research associates.
We also have a team organizing shared resources and a team providing outreach, policy, and public health communication.
Our Executive Committee is comprised of the Executive Director, the Directors of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity, and Leads/Co-Leads of the ten Pillars.
We all work together
We work collaboratively with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML), the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), provincial and territorial public health labs, and other national and international bodies. Each CoVaRR-Net Pillar will work intimately with research teams from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) to accelerate the pace of discovery.
To bridge the gaps in our Network ecosystem and address immediate research needs regarding variants, CoVaRR-Net will conduct open calls for multidisciplinary research proposals to tackle specific scientific questions.
Network Coordinator
Nidhi Chaudhary
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity
Pillar 1
Immunology & Vaccine Protection
Investigating how the immune system responds to emerging variants and assessing the effectiveness of vaccines against them.
Members
Vivian Liu
McGill University
Heidi Wood
National Microbiology Laboratory
Coordinator
Laurie Seifried
Pillar 2
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Exploring the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 variants and different host species to understand infection and disease, both in the laboratory and the field.
Brad Pickering
Zoonosis, virus-host interactions, One Health Framework, emerging diseases, high consequence pathogens
Research Scientist, head of Special Pathogens, National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Adjunct Professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Manitoba
Pillar 3
Virology
Evaluates the virus’ features in cells and animals. These include measuring infectivity, pathological effects, and vaccine and immune resistance in animals.
Coordinator
Annie Gravel
Pillar 4
Functional Genomics & Structure-Function of VOCs
Studying different areas of the viruses & how they interact with cells, investigating viral protein structures and functions & how they interact with human proteins.
Members
William (Rod) Hardy
Sinai Health Systems / University of Toronto
Vivian Liu
McGill University
Joyce Wilson
University of Saskatchewan
Coordinator
Laurie Seifried
Pillar 5
Viral Genomics & Sequencing
Reads each variant’s genetic code and looks at the relationships between the sequences of the parent virus and the variants.
Members
Marc Desforges
CHU Sainte-Justine
Ryan Ziels
University of British Columbia
Coordinator
Ju-Ling Liu
Pillar 6
Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes (CAMEO)
Using computer modelling and calculations to evaluate the genetic evolution of variants and how quickly they propagate in the Canadian population.
Members
Paul Gordon
University of Calgary
Julie Hussin
Université de Montréal
Rees Kassen
McGill University
Art Poon
Western University
William Hsiao
Simon Fraser University
Jeffery Joy
University of British Colombia
Carmen Lia Murall
Public Health Agency of Canada
Coordinator
Erin Gill
Indigenous Involvement
Indigenous communities in Canada have disproportionately borne the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. CoVaRR-Net’s Pillar 7, Indigenous Engagement, Development, and Research (CIEDAR), works to build strong partnerships with and be relevant to Indigenous communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast. CIEDAR’s goal is to actively collaborate with Indigenous community collaborators to develop potential solutions to halt the spread of COVID-19 VOCs. We aim to answer questions about how health, socioeconomic, and cultural factors either reduce or increase the spread of VOCs and communicate that information widely so that Canada’s Indigenous communities can make informed decisions. We focus on success stories, as well as support grassroots efforts and policies. We will also work collaboratively with other VOC Indigenous Networks, as they are created, in multiple areas.
Pillar 7
CoVaRR-Net’s Indigenous Engagement,
Development, and Research (CIEDAR)
Building partnerships with Indigenous communities and working collaboratively with the upcoming Indigenous Network for VOC in multiple areas.
Coordinator
Tamara Chavez
Pillar 8
Public Health, Health Systems and Social Policy Impacts
Studying the impacts of the variants on public health, our healthcare system, and on social policy and reporting these findings to decision-makers and government officials.
Members
Sara Allin
University of Toronto
Coordinator
Sohana Sadique
Pillar 9
Knowledge, Implementation and Training Team (KITT)
Connecting all activities from the other nine Pillars and quickly and efficiently sharing findings in order to best advance discoveries and inform decision and policymakers.
Members
Jamie Brehaut
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Alfonso Iorio
McMaster University
Julian Little
University of Ottawa
Giorgia Sulis
University of Ottawa
Pillar 10
Antiviral Strategies and Antiviral Therapeutics
Identifying and profiling effectiveness of leading antivirals alone or in combination against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and other human viruses with pandemic potential.
Nathalie Grandvaux
Antiviral Strategies & Antiviral Therapeutics Pillar Deputy
Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Université de Montréal
Associate Scientific Director of Students and Postdoctoral Affairs and Principal Investigator,
Centre de recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM)
Co-founder and past-president, Canadian Society for Virology (CSV)
Co-director, Quebec COVID-Pandemic Network (QCPN)
Members
Rob Kozak
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Joyce Wilson
University of Saskatchewan
Prameet Sheth
Queen’s University
Coordinator
Carl Perez
CoVaRR-Net Biobank
Manager
Nikita Rayne
Coordinator
Aliisa Heiskanen
Data Platform
Wastewater Surveillance Research Group
Doug Manuel
Member, Wastewater Surveillance Research Group
Public Health and Health Systems, Modelling
Public Health, Health Systems and Social Policy Impacts Pillar Deputy
Senior Scientist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Distinguished University Professor, University of Ottawa
Clinical Research Chair, Precision Medicine for Chronic Disease Prevention, University of Ottawa
Coordinator
Carol Bennett
Bioethics
The Canadian Consortium of Academic
Biosafety Level 3 (CCABL3) Laboratories
Provides rapid guidance and recommendations to Canadian authorities when facing new emerging biological threats.
Mariana Baz
Member, Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories (CCABL3)
Senior Research Scientist and Head of the Antiviral Drug Sensitivity Division at the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza;
Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the BSL3 laboratory, Université Laval
Marcel Behr
Member, Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories (CCABL3)
Director, Infectious Diseases, McGill University; Director, McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4); Director, CL3 Lab, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
Sarah Viehbeck
Ex officio member, Canadian Consortium of Academic Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories (CCABL3)
Chief Science Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Coordinator
Rajesh Jacob