Presented by the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID) in partnership with Canadian Water Network (CWN)
Date and Time
February 25, 2025, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Central Time
(2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Eastern Time)
Description
Join our discussion with guest speakers Dr. Natalie Prystajecky, Head of Microbiology at the BC Centre for Disease Control and Dr. Robert Delatolla, Full Professor University of Ottawa and CIHR Applied Public Health Chair in Environment, Climate Change and One Health as they highlight wastewater surveillance success stories from across Canada. This webinar will be delivered in English only. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Learn about some of the success stories from Canada’s wastewater surveillance system.
- Identify the key stakeholders involved, weaknesses and strengths, actions triggered and how they inform public health decision-making.
- Discuss measurable impacts, such as reduced transmission, improved public health decisions, community benefits, and cost savings.
This webinar will be delivered in English only. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.
Registrants are encouraged to submit questions of interest before the webinar to nccid@umanitoba.ca
Speakers
Dr. Natalie Prystajecky
Program Head, Environmental Microbiology, BCCDC Public Health Laboratory
Co-Program Head, Molecular and Microbial Genomics, BCCDC Public Health Laboratory
Clinical Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
Dr. Natalie Prystajecky earned her PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2010 and has been a key member of the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory since 2011. She currently oversees two laboratories: the Environmental Microbiology lab, which focuses on foodborne and waterborne illnesses, and the Molecular and Microbial Genomics lab, an R&D program dedicated to the development and deployment of molecular and genomic testing. Under her leadership, these programs leverage emerging technologies, such as genomics, to enhance routine surveillance and outbreak investigations. Dr. Prystajecky is also a Clinical Associate Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC. Her research spans diverse areas, from targeted resequencing of wetland sediments to track the emergence of avian influenza strains, to integrating wastewater sequencing and epidemiological data for respiratory virus monitoring. She is passionate about translating research innovations into practical applications for diagnostic and reference laboratories. Recently, she played a pivotal role in expanding sequencing capacity at the BCCDC, launching British Columbia’s wastewater surveillance program, and conducting collaborative research on H5N1 in birds and mammals.
Dr. Robert Delatolla
Robert Delatolla is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, and CIHR Applied Public Health Chair of Environment, Climate Change and One Health. He is the Director of the Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Environmental Engineering, Director of the national CoVaRR-Net Wastewater Surveillance Research Group, co-founder of the Ontario Wastewater Surveillance Consortium. Professor Delatolla is an environmental engineer whose research focuses on translating wastewater and environmental monitoring into population and public health decision-making for pandemic preparedness and to improve health equity in Canada. He has recently been awarded the 2023-2024 George S. Glinski Award for Excellence in Research awarded by the University of Ottawa, the 2022-2023 Ontario Society of Professional Engineers Engineering Excellence Medal awarded by Professional Engineers Ontario, the 2022-2023 Covid-19 Public Health Innovation Fund Award awarded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and the Ontario Medical Association.