Planning to visit Grandma? It might be worth checking out this website!

The city of Toronto has taken an interesting and proactive  approach to reporting communicable disease risk associated with long term care (LTC) homes. The first report was released on February 13, 2014 and an update will be released weekly (every Thursday). The city report can be found online at the following website. The report identifies Toronto long term care facilities that currently have active outbreaks. The definition of an institutional outbreak is a localized increase (e.g. in an institution, or a specific ward or floor within an institution) in the rate of infection or illness, above that which is expected. The data available also includes the type of outbreak (enteric or respiratory) as well as the causative agent (if available). It appears that this report will also include information for institutional Clostridium difficule infection outbreaks when they occur. Case definitions for the reportable diseases can be found here. 

In support of interdisciplinary research training

Some people might think that it is unusual that my research group accepts students from diverse academic training backgrounds like epidemiology, mathematics, statistics, computer science or biology. However, I feel very strongly that this diversity enhances the ability of our research group to address important infectious disease questions by allowing students to interact across traditional disciplines.  This interaction enriches the research experience of students here in my research program. This month in The Scientist magazine there is an article which describes the "next step" that some universities are taking in this regard by offering truly interdisciplinary advanced degree programs. You can read more about it here. 

Study abroad program accepting applications

The York University, Centre for Disease Modeling (CDM)  is offering a bi-lateral exchange program for students. Canadian students currently affiliated with the CDM (including my graduate students) can study at a leading institution in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam. Students from any university within Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Turkey or Vietnam also have the opportunity to come to Canada and study under the supervision of a CDM faculty member (right now there are 4 CDM affiliated faculty accepting students). It is possible that I will accept students through this program who have research interests that are in line with my own. 

How does it work?

• Design a collaborative research project with your home supervisor and a reseacher in one of our partner countries

• Placements are for 3-6 months, taking place at any point during the year

• Up to $5,000 in support for student travel expenses

• Open to senior undergraduate and graduate students

• Download the application form and email to cdmdesk@yorku.ca if you are interested

• Please discuss this opportunity with your home supervisor before applying

• Applications are due on February 15, 2014

*View a list of CDM faculty members accepting applications. Please indicate which member you would like to work with in your application. 

*The program is funded by Mitacs Global link. More information on the program guidelines and eligibility criteria is available on Mitacs' website https://www.mitacs.ca/globalink/globalink-research-award

Things are heating up at OVC

I am excited to report that the temperature here in Guelph is on the rise this morning. Since moving to the Ontario Veterinary College I have started gauging the temperature based on if the horses are in or out of the barn when I arrive in the morning. This morning the horses were out enjoying the sunshine. Seeing the horses when I arrive to my office in the morning is a real treat after seeing only skyscrapers and concrete in downtown Toronto. 

Do dogs get sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? The answer might surprise you.

Photo credit: www.dogster.com

Today Slate published an article about a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that gives dogs cancer. The even more incredible part of this story is that the STD dates back 11,000 years!

Happy New Year!

It's a new year and that means that I have officially taken up my position as a new Canada Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling at the University of Guelph. I will miss many aspects of my former role at the Public Health Agency of Canada but I am really excited to be starting a new research program here in Guelph! In case you missed it, I did a brief interview with the Guelph Mercury when my chair was announced on November 14, 2013 to discuss my area of research. You can find the article here. 

I am busy getting settled, unpacking my office, setting up computers and getting positioned to start recruiting new students for Fall 2014. If you are a student interested in graduate studies in my research group please review the Opportunities page of the website. New information will be available once the semester gets underway so check back often to see what we are up to. 

U of G Gets $2.4 Million Via CRC Program

Today was the official announcement of my Canada Research Chair position at the University of Guelph. 

The University of Guelph press release is here. 

Epidemics 4 conference

It's an exciting time of year for scientists who work in infectious disease. November 19-22, 2013 is the 4th International Conference on Infectious Disease Dynamics in Amsterdam. This is THE place to catch up on the latest and greatest advances in our field. Attendance is sure to inspire new research project ideas and the networking opportunities are sure to generate lots of interesting conversation. 

 Are you attending the conference? If so, plan to swing by my poster on Wednesday evening to talk about antiviral stockpiling for an influenza pandemic and the ways that we are using mathematical models to think about the size of stockpile that might be required for pandemics with different characteristics.