A new six-year training program co-led by researchers at the University of Guelph will use a One Health approach to build national capacity for the next pandemic – the first training of its kind in Canada.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research awarded U of G and other university, government and non-governmental organization partners $2.7 million to co-create the new bilingual training program, titled the Canadian One Health Training Program on Emerging Zoonoses (COHTPEZ).
COHPTEZ was co-designed with several university partners including University of Montreal, University of Saskatchewan, University of Toronto, York University and Dalhousie University, as well as other academic partners, provincial and federal government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. It draws on the team’s research knowledge across diverse fields, their firsthand experience in responding to COVID-19, their unique disciplinary expertise and their lived experiences.
At U of G, the project will be led by Dr. Jane Parmley, professor in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Population Medicine. The program will prepare Canada to identify and prevent disease threats, to limit their spread and impact on human and animal populations and to work collaboratively across disciplines and sectors to build health capacity.
“When the next pandemic hits – and it is a when, not an if – we can’t solve these complex health challenges on our own,” Parmley says. “It’s going to take collaboration and a willingness and commitment to learn from each other.”
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