FLOCK

As highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, H5Nx emerged, a number of Wild EPI investigators led surveillance and research projects for HPAI in wildlife. When HPAI spilled over into dairy cattle and humans in the United States, a broader group rapidly came together as The Flock to advance a multidisciplinary One Health approach to influenza research. This group of investigators from clinical and genomic epidemiology, computational biology, ecology, virology, immunology, veterinary, wildlife and human health, public health and data sciences are actively collaborating to address key questions around HPAI virus exposure, transmission, pathogenesis and the development of countermeasures.

Knowledge Mobilization Activities

Generation of the RSC policy brief Strengthening a One Health Approach to Emerging Zoonoses, which was directly briefed up to leadership at the National Research Council (NRC), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and the Chief Science Advisor of Canada.
Chaired/Scientific Leadership for a RSC-hosted G7 Research Summit on One Health in Lake Louise (2022), which included international delegates and leaders from the Government of Canada and the Tri-Council
Chaired/Scientific Leadership for a joint meeting co-organised with the RSC and Government of Canada on H5N1: Evolving Situation, Evolving Research, at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa, 2023; opening and closing remarks by Dr. Theresa Tam and Dr. Cathy Ireland respectively.
Organized a national webinar entitled Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A Scientific Update on a Clear and Present Danger; Towards Understanding Risk and Preparedness in partnership with the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR), who provided substantial operational support; there were 250 registrants and 140 attendees from 57 different institutions and agencies.
A follow-up meeting entitled Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Research: A Rapid and Evolving Response facilitated by the RSC, held at Walter House, headquarters of the RSC in Ottawa, May 2024.
RSC-associated Let’s Talk Science events including Let’s Talk One Health (virtual, high school students), and Let’s Talk Science on the Hill – Building Trust in Science (Ottawa, Government of Canada). Other engagements directly with decision makers around One Health have included a Research Canada panel presentation on Challenges and Innovative Approaches to Antimicrobial Resistance and Future Pandemics (Ottawa, Government of Canada).
Panelists on high profile panels, including for Gairdner Awards and Friesen Internationa.
Several Globe and Mail OpEds including Why avian influenza presents a clear danger and requires a One Health approach; Why the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Canadian wildlife matters; SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern remind us that we underestimate biology at our own peril and were interviewed for the Decibel podcast The pandemic potential of avian flu.
Several hundred print, radio, and streamed/broadcast media appearances and contributions, including for CBC, NPR, BBC, TVO, New York Times, Nature, Journal of the American Medical Association, National Geographic and many other outlets.
Authored scientific opinion pieces, e.g. Nature Ecology & Evolution; Coordinated surveillance is essential to monitor and mitigate the evolutionary impacts of SARS-CoV-2 spillover and circulation in animal hosts 9 (co-authorship), along with other similar articles by our colleagues stressing the importance of a One Health approach in virus surveillance and risk analysis (Cell Host & Microbe, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, The Lancet Microbe, among others).