This year’s event featured a capitalist with a time machine, bringing historic public figures into 2019. As well as being fun and funny, the format allowed attendees to learn how different infectious diseases are transmitted and how outbreaks are solved, as well as scientific breakthroughs that have brought us to our present day medical advancements.

The sold –out event held on October 18th was a great way to inform the public of the work that the CDC does for the people of BC. By visiting clue booths staffed by actual CDC/Labs employees, attendees participated in activities that resulted in learning about things like what lab techs look for in a blood test to identify pathogens; how genome sequencing of a disease can track its spread and how other medical/scientific clues like insect bites can help epidemiologists identify what they might be dealing with.

In addition to the “clue” booths, many of the other programs at the CDC had info booths to help raise the profile of the work done at the BC Centre for Disease Control. Staff from TB, Hepatitis, STI clinic, Community Antimicrobial Stewardship and Harm Reduction, as well as the BCCDC Foundation team, were all present to share activities, treats and info with the 800 attendees.

These events wouldn’t happen without all the dedicated volunteers, so a big shout out to everyone who poured their hearts and brains into this event! If you want to ensure you know about events like this, and other activities, sign up for our newsletter and follow us @bccdcfoundation on social media.

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Led by Drs Jay Johnston and Jennifer Gardy, Molecular Epidemiology of TB in BC was a five-year project funded by the Foundation that recently wrapped up, and with our support the team was able to undertake the largest complete genomic study of TB transmission to date – nearly 1500 TB genomes. Working on genotyping and sequencing tuberculosis bacteria collected in BC between 2005-14, Drs Gardy and Johnston feel that the impact of this project has been profound, a world first, and is generating actionable insights into TB transmission and is changing how BC approaches TB prevention. The work has generated 16 publications (with more on the way) and been presented internationally, with over 50 invited talks and poster presentations. Begun with funds through the Foundation, additional funds were secured through Genome BC, allowing the Foundation to successfully leverage our initial investment. When asked to report on any challenges or limitations encountered during the study, Dr Gardy stated, “None – this project has been the best experience of our scientific lives so far!”. It is with statements like that, the Foundation is eager to support such a great team undertaking valuable work.

One of the things we are proud of is the extent to which student trainees were able to participate. Over the span of the five-year projects, there were 11 students ranging from PhD to undergrad, working on different aspects.

The initial BCCDC Foundation investment enabled the research team to secure additional funding from multiple sources, totaling over $1.2 million dollars, as the project grew and opportunities arose to study different facets of the data. The project has, per Dr Gardy , “ultimately convinced the BC Public Health Lab to adopt routine genotyping … and will change the way we diagnose and track TB in BC forevermore”.

Some of the publications from this project can be found here  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850024/ , here  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6107743/   and here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30280646

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Dr. Gardy is a Senior Scientist at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and an Associate Professor in SPPH at UBC, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Public Health Genomics and a Michael Smith Scholar award. She obtained her BSc in Cell Biology & Genetics from UBC in 2000 and completed her PhD at Simon Fraser University in 2006 under Dr. Fiona Brinkman, working on bacterial genomics and bioinformatics-based predictive methods. She completed three years of postdoctoral training in the R.E.W. Hancock laboratory at UBC, using systems biology techniques to study the mammalian innate immune response and working on visualization tools to facilitate scientists’ exploration of biological network data.

Dr. Gardy joined BCCDC in 2009, where she works in the emerging field of genomic epidemiology, combining whole genome sequencing with both new and old epidemiological techniques to understand the origins, evolution, and transmission dynamics of outbreak organisms, including tuberculosis. In 2018, she was recognized as one of BC’s most influential women in STEM by BC Business magazine, building on other accolades, including a YWCA Women of Distinction award in the Science, Technology, and Research category. Dr. Gardy is also a passionate science communicator involved in a number of science media projects, including regular appearances on CBC Television’s documentary series The Nature of Things. Her first children’s book, “It’s Catching: the Infectious World of Germs and Microbes” was published by Owlkids Books in 2014.

Dr. Gardy has been an advisor to the BCCDC Foundation Board of Directors since 2011. For more information on our Board of Directors and advisors, please visit our website.

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Dr. Sarah Henderson and her team have been awarded funds to study how exposure to forest fire impacts outcomes during pregnancy and early life.

Dr. William Hsiao and his team have been awarded funding to conduct a pilot study examining the replacement of one method of genomic sequencing of influenza samples with another, that ultimately may help inform whether seasonal influenza vaccines are being reformulated in a timely enough manner to be effective.

Dr. Inna Sekirov and her research team have been granted funds for a study to determine if a particular TB test is more effective than another currently in use, that may also be a better indicator of whether it is an active or latent infection.

Dr. Michael Otterstatter has been awarded travel funds for a team member for Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) International User Conference.

For BCCDC Faculty interested in applying for funding, be sure to watch your email inboxes in late August for the announcement of the fall competition; the next round of applications will be reviewed in October 2018. To see some of our past research successes, click through to our main research page on our website, or you can review all posts in this blog for other successful OAP applications by clicking on the Open Awards Program category.

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The project “A Patient-centred TB risk assessment tool: reducing stigma, increasing knowledge”, led by Maureen Mayhew, Rosemin Kassam, Victoria Cook, Michelle Murti, Dick Menzies, James Johnston, Nash Dhalla, and Jennifer Gardy received $10,000 to develop pilot data over one year.

Background: Risk-based latent TB infection (LTBI) diagnosis and treatment is important in Canada but tools on how to target screening and treatment are missing. In 2008, “The Online TST/IGRA Interpreter” tool for clinicians to calculate a lifetime risk of TB disease was developed, yet patients have requested multi-lingual educational tools to facilitate their understanding of LTBI. In this research, literature reviews and knowledge synthesis will inform future research and clinical care.

Key objectives for the pilot study were threefold. First, a systematic review of literature on LTBI-related stigma was undertaken. Two main themes emerged from the synthesis: a) forms and characteristics of stigma—fear and shame and b) the impacts of stigma—rejection, suspicion, and certification.  Second, a patient survey was created to understand perceptions of LTBI-related risks. Third, LTBI surveillance data was analysed for data completeness and LTBI Screening and Treatment Results.

Impact of the study:  Directly addressing strategic objectives of the BC Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Prevention, Treatment and Control in BC, Canada, that prioritizes improving access to TB prevention in those at risk, this project included detailed literature reviews of LTBI-related stigma and perceptions of TB risks, creation of a clinical patient survey on perceptions of LTBI-related risks, and quality assessment and analysis of LTBI surveillance data from 2010 to the first quarter of 2016. The results inform patient-centred health messages for our routine work at BCCDC TB Services, which have the potential to increase LTBI treatment initiation and completion in those at risk leading ultimately to an expected reduction in TB incidence.

The BCCDC Foundation is pleased to have played a part in getting the ball rolling for Dr Mayhew and her team’s work on this project.

The post Open Awards Program as a Springboard for Larger Peer Reviewed Funding appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

We are grateful to have Dr. Gardy as an advisor to the Foundation as she brings her expertise in research and dedication to improving public health to the Board.  Additionally, Dr. Gardy is a member of the liaison team that works to align the goals of the BCCDC and the BCCDC Foundation. The BRIDGE-MTB project hopes to change the way we treat and prevent TB and NTMs in BC.  It is this type of cutting-edge research that the Foundation looks to support. We look forward to seeing how the findings of this project improve the diagnosis, control, and prevention of TB and NTMs, as well as the projects that with consequently develop from the research.

If you would like to read more on Dr. Gardy’s BRIDGE-MTB project, click here. 

For more information the BCCDC Foundation and the projects that we fund, click here.

The post Dr. Jennifer Gardy recognized by MSFHR for her outstanding work in Mycobacteria and Tuberculosis appeared first on Pacific Public Health Foundation.

Dr Amee Manges will work on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene detection using metagenomics, addressing the need for novel ways to detect and prevent AMR, and testing whether fecal microbiota transplantation into Clostridium difficile-infected patients can eliminate or reduce the burden of other AMR bacteria in the gut. Drs Troy Grennan and Jason Wong will determine the efficacy and safety of daily doxycycline prophylaxis in preventing new syphilis cases, as well as other bacterial STIs, in high-risk, HIV-positive MSM, and the impact of doxycycline on rates of AMR. Dr Sarah Henderson, Dr Tom Kosatsky, and Lorraine McIntyre will undertake two projects on shellfish safety – one using environmental modelling to inform on shellfish bed closures, the other through a workshop that will enable public health and industry professionals to discuss specific mitigation strategies to address the risk of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in raw oyster consumers.

In the first systematic design study for reporting whole genome sequencing data in the public health microbiology domain, Dr Jenn Gardy will use the design study approach from the field of information visualization to create a one-page report that translates tuberculosis (TB) genomic data into an interpretable format to demonstrate the utility of this approach to clinical report design. In addition, Dr James Johnston, with Dr Gardy, will host a workshop to bring BC TB stakeholders together to develop and discuss the new process and reporting format for TB genotyping data to lead to faster, more appropriate patient care and TB cluster investigation. Dr Maureen Mayhew and team will target TB prevention toward those at risk by creating, testing and implementing a patient-centred web-tool that empowers patients by improving latent TB infection (LTBI) knowledge and reduces stigma, identifies personalized TB risk, and influences acceptance and completion of LTBI treatment.

Dr Jane Buxton, Ashraf Amlani, and the Peer Engagement and Evaluation Project (PEEP) team, which develops, implements and evaluates best practice guidelines for peer engagement for harm reduction programs and policies, will come together for a three-day meeting to validate qualitative analysis findings to enable their continued work in ensuring that everyone across BC has equal access to harm reduction services.

It is our goal to support BCCDC researchers with small grants to enable further peer-reviewed support from other agencies. We are excited to have been able to fund this number of diverse and innovative projects, and we look forward to some intriguing outcomes. Congrats to all and their teams!

Watch your inboxes in the coming weeks for an announcement of the next BCCDC Foundation Open Awards Program, with a deadline of April 1.

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