U of G prof co-leads $15M project to prepare for future health emergencies

Lawrence Goodridge, a microbiology professor at the University of Guelph, is co-leading a team of researchers in a $15-million project that runs until 2028.

A University of Guelph professor is co-leading a project that aims to better prepare for future health emergencies.

Lawrence Goodridge, a professor of microbiology at the post-secondary institution, is among several researchers who are part of the $15-million initiative.

Goodridge said the goal is to develop ways to build resiliency into supply chains related to the biomanufacturing sector.

“We really hope to develop more robust procedures that would use surveillance for these pathogens and wastewater as an early signal,” Goodridge said.

He said if they’re able to pick up on a signal, they can alert and work with supply chains to ensure they can find alternate places to source their material, so disruptions do not occur again.

The Integrated Network for the Surveillance of Pathogens: Increasing Resilience and capacity in Canada’s pandemic response (INSPIRE) will be led by Goodridge and Robert McKay from the University of Windsor.

Along with researchers at U of G and in collaboration with the University of Windsor, Goodridge successfully applied to the Canada Biomedical Research Fund, which was created in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team also includes researchers from the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo and partners at more than two dozen academic, public, private and not-for-profit institutions.