NSERC CREATE for Protecting the Health of Canadians: Integrated Training Program in Infectious Disease, Food Safety and Public Policy

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About 30% of annual human mortality is due to infectious diseases. At least three new infectious diseases emerge annually, 80% of which originate in animals before crossing the species barrier into humans. For example, our recent SARS outbreak cost us $1.5-2 billion, while food-borne diseases are estimated to cost nearly $15 billion to the Canadian economy each year. Many of these diseases emerge in other countries, but cross borders easily because of our increased global mobility. To guard our medical, social and economic interests and to overcome the pressing shortage of highly qualified personnel in industry, government agencies and academia, we are proposing to establish a new Integrated Training Program in Infectious Disease, Food Safety and Public Policy. Because of the need for international engagement in fights struggles against such global threats, our trainees will learn also from leading partner institutions in Germany and India. We will employ Canada's best research infrastructure in infectious diseases within our program, including the National Center for Foreign Animal Disease and the International Vaccine Centre/Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. In order to train our students to translate their bench science into practical public health approaches to the spread of infectious disease, we are partnering with government regulatory professionals, such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Public Health Agency of Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and with industrial partners such as Novartis, Cangene and Maple Leaf Foods. This cutting-edge program will train its graduates to think across the spectrum of activities that must be marshaled to effectively combat emerging pathogens and ensure safe food, from bench-top discovery and innovation to development of effective therapeutic approaches to public health policy. The graduates of this training program will assume leadership roles in government and private sectors to protect our national interests and the health of Canadians.