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Genomics for Public Health Surveillance

Introduction

Genomics is at the forefront of public health surveillance and has been widely applied to tracking infectious diseases. From identifying novel, emerging, and circulating pathogens and variants; tracking the spread and behaviour of pathogens; to monitoring vaccine effectiveness; genomics plays a crucial role in infectious disease surveillance for informing public health priorities and interventions.

Hosted by

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)’s Data, Surveillance and Foresight Branch (DSFB) and the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCCID).

Date and time

May 28, 2024

1:00 to 2:00 Eastern Time / 12:00 to 1:00 Central Time

Language: Seminar is delivered in English.

Resources

Surveillance-Advances-Seminar-8_Genomics_05-28-2024Download

Learning Objectives

Presentation 1 – Dr. Jennifer Gardy:

  • Describe the role genomics can play in surveillance, strategic planning, and commodity procurement in malaria-endemic countries
  • Understand the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s strategic priorities for malaria genomic surveillance
  • Articulate some of the challenges associated with establishing genomic surveillance capacity in sub-Saharan Africa

Presentation 2 – Dr. Linda Hoang:

  • Describe advances in microbiology tools for surveillance, an important core function of a public health laboratory
  • Outline the key applications of pathogen genomics for patient care and public health response
  • Describe the development of a pathogen genomics program at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
  • Outline features of a genomics infrastructure to inform patient care, public health, and One Health

Format

This seminar will be held on Zoom. Speakers will make their presentations for the first 30, followed by approximately 15 minutes for discussion and questions from attendees. Presentation materials in English and French will be distributed through NCCID media channels.

Moderators

  • Signy Baragar, NCCID
  • Louis Wong, DSFB

Speakers

  • Dr. Jennifer Gardy, Deputy Director, Special Initiatives, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Dr. Linda Hoang, Medical Director, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control

Access Instructions

All instructions for the seminar series will be posted on the Zoom registration page and will be emailed to all registrants prior to the event. Following the event, recordings and slides for each seminar will be distributed through NCCID media channels.

Accreditation statement

Surveillance Advances is a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Surveillance Advances is also approved by the Council of Professional Experience for professional development hours for members of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors.

Past Webinars

Surveillance Advances launched in September 2023 with a discussion about the foundational concepts of public health surveillance and the future opportunities that lie ahead. Subsequent seminars featured topics related to health inequalities (seminar 2),  data science (seminar 3),  maternal and newborn health (seminar 4), and injury surveillance (seminar 5). For a complete list of seminars and to view their recordings, please visit the Surveillance Advances webcasts page.

Click here to visit the Surveillance Advances webcasts page and access seminar information and recordings