Faculty of medicine researchers received national funding for work on COVID-19 virus variants.
The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, announced a total investment of $14.3 million from the Canadian government, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
This includes $5.3 million in supplementary funding for 90 ongoing COVID-19 projects and $9 million for a new national network that will coordinate and align variants research throughout the country.
Thirteen ongoing projects led by UBC researchers were awarded a total of $939,626 in supplementary funding through the SARS-CoV-2 variants supplement: COVID-19 Rapid Research Funding Opportunity streams.
The Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network, or CoVaRR-Net, will be led by Dr. Marc-André Langlois from the University of Ottawa. Dr. Langlois and his team will collaborate with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Lab, the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network, provincial and territorial public health labs, and other national and international bodies.
UBC faculty of medicine co-investigators in the network include Nozomu Yachie, Manish Sadarangani and Terry Snutch.
Faculty of medicine-led projects awarded supplementary funding
Funding for all projects was received through Stream 1 of the SARS-CoV-2 variants supplement: COVID-19 Rapid Research Funding Opportunity.
Awards marked * also received funding through Stream 2.
Project title: Neutralizing human-derived single-chain antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
UBC PI: Horacio Bach, division of infectious diseases, department of medicine
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Computer-aided discovery of synergistic drug combinations with Remdevisir for COVID-19 through mechanism-based drug repurposing and combinatorial organoid screening
UBC PIs: Artem Cherkasov, department of urologic sciences
Award amount: $ 140,000*
Project title: Contribution of genetic variation of ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, to COVID-19 disease expression and development of therapeutics
UBC PI: Kurt Haas, department of cellular and physiological sciences
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Host cellular protein substrates of SARS-CoV-2 proteases
UBC PI: Eric Jan, department of biochemistry and molecular biology
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Genomic epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of COVID-19 and other emerging corona viruses
UBC PI: Jeffrey Joy, division of infectious diseases, department of medicine
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and health outcomes among young people: A mixed-method comparative analysis in Canada and France
UBC PI: Rodney E, Knight, division of social medicine, department of medicine
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: The role of interleukin-10 responsiveness in lung inflammation in SARS CoV2 infection
UBC PI: Alice L. Mui, department of surgery
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Canadian Treatments for COVID-19: SOLIDARITY
UBC PI: Srinivas Murthy, department of pediatrics
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Bespoke transition state analog inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL and PL proteases
UBC PI: Natalie C. Strynadka, department of biochemistry and molecular biology
Award amount: $ 150,000*
Project title: Point of Care Heart-Lung Imaging for Patients Presenting with COVID-19 Symptoms: Artificial Intelligence Precision Modeling for Prediction of Outcomes
UBC PI: Teresa S. Tsang, division of cardiology, department of medicine) and Kimberlyn M. McGrail, School of Population and Public Health
Award amount: $ 150,000*
Project title: Predicting the risk of developing mental and substance use disorders due to COVID-19: machine learning applied to health service utilization data to facilitate access to effective treatments.
UBC PIs: Daniel V. Vigo and Lakshmi N. Yatham, department of psychiatry
Award amount: $ 50,000
Project title: Protecting healthcare workers from COVID-19: A comparative contextualized analysis
UBC PI: Annalee Yassi, School of Population and Public Health
Award amount: $ 49,626