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The University of Montreal will receive $40 million to fund innovative projects

Posted on by Neons

Soraya Martínez Ferrada, Minister of Tourism and Minister in charge of the Economic Development Agency for the Quebec Regions of Canada, today visited the Polytechnic Montreal campus of the University of Montreal (UdeM) on behalf of the Minister of Innovation, Science, François-Philippe Champagne. Industry Canada to announce the results of Phase 2 of the Canada Biomedical Research Foundation and Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund grants, which will award more than $575 million to Canadian institutions. The Eastern Canada Pandemic Preparedness Hub (ECaPPH), led by UdeM, has been awarded nearly $100 million for four projects that its member institutions are implementing in collaboration with industry and several other partners.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for academic institutions, industry, non-profit organizations and government agencies in Quebec, the Atlantic provinces and Canada to work together and build a robust, resilient ecosystem to effectively respond to future pandemics and emerging health crises. ECaPPH's goal, like four other research hubs in Canada, is to significantly increase the flexibility, connectivity and growth of the biomanufacturing and life sciences sector, as well as participate in monitoring, identifying new threats and making possible solutions. By the public, Canada is ready and better prepared to deal with future pandemics and health crises.

The pandemic has prompted an unprecedented mobilization of research teams around the world. UdeM and its partners were no exception. Today's announcement highlights how multidisciplinary teams can advance research and accelerate discoveries for the benefit of society.
– Daniel Jutras

Smart discovery of new antibiotics

Yves Brun

Yves Brun

Credit: University of Montreal

The development of antibiotics is one of the greatest advances in modern medicine. But recent decades have seen an alarming increase in bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs, rendering many antibiotics ineffective against infections that were previously treatable. In addition, the misuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals has led to the emergence of new, antibiotic-resistant superbugs, making the situation worse. This “shadow pandemic” is responsible for more than 5 million deaths worldwide each year, and if no action is taken, this number could reach 10 million by 2050.

These are the questions of a research project led by Yves Brun, professor at the Department of Microbiology, Infection and Immunology and researcher at the Center for Biomedical Innovation at the UdeM Faculty of Medicine. In this $21 million project, Brun's team and their partners will accelerate discovery by creating a platform for rapid action, forming new partnerships with researchers from a variety of disciplines, including artificial intelligence, microbiology, pharmacology and chemistry. new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant bacteria and thus prevent potential pandemics.

The team's main strategy will be to develop new drugs in silicon, in other words, using computer-aided design using the latest advances in artificial intelligence. The researchers also plan to use a unique approach that will run a battery of advanced microscopic, biochemical and pharmacological tests to validate and train the drug design model in silico to continuously optimize its predictions.

POPCORN Collaborative Research Platform

Caroline Quach-Than

Caroline Quach-Than

Credit: Benjamin Seropian

The POPCORN platform, founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, is led by Caroline Quach, professor at UdeM and microbiologist and infectious disease physician at the CHU Sainte-Justine teaching hospital. POPCORN brings together scientific communities from 16 Canadian pediatric hospitals and pediatric research networks to develop a multidisciplinary approach to pediatric research. This “network of networks” has done great work, but still faces challenges in Canada's ability to respond to future pandemics. Obstacles that the second version of the POPCORN platform will overcome include the inability to rapidly conduct clinical trials in children and pregnant women, the lack of real-time data to inform evidence-based policy decisions, and the difficulty of capturing the full trajectory of children. diseases.

Dr. Kuach's research team received $16 million in new funding. They plan to use a unique research structure to rapidly identify and comprehensively analyze infectious diseases occurring in children and pregnant women to maximize the capacity and training needed to enroll these populations in clinical trials. By becoming a national center for maternal and child disease control and facilitating collaboration between the public and private sectors, POPCORN will make a significant contribution to Canada's biomanufacturing and life sciences strategy, thereby accelerating the discovery and development of treatments and vaccines for vulnerable populations.

In its report, the review committee stated that the proposals of Professors Brun and Kuach, who are already working together, were strategically complementary for the monitoring and control of antibiotic-resistant bacteria – a positive moment that clearly demonstrates the interdisciplinary nature of UdeM research teams.

Projects funded by Montreal Polytechnic and Laval University

Gregory de Crescenzo

Gregory de Crescenzo

Credit: Polytechnic of Montreal

In addition to funding for two projects led by UdeM researchers, the Eastern Canada Pandemic Preparedness Hub received funding for projects at two other research institutions. In one project, Gregory De Crescenzo, professor of chemical engineering at Polytechnic Montreal, conducts research on the accelerated mass production of biomaterials in the context of health emergencies. His team has received nearly $20 million in funding to advance their research on this topic. In another project, Laval University professor Jerome Estaquier received $42 million to build infrastructure that will become a national pandemic preparedness primatology center.

About the Eastern Canada Pandemic Preparedness Hub

ECaPPH brings together 58 life science partners in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, said Yves Joanette, Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Research, Discovery, Creation and Innovation at the University of Montreal. Laval University and McGill University are co-leaders of the hub. Its partners include other universities and government agencies and many bioinnovation and biomanufacturing firms. In March 2023, five hubs were established in Canada to bring together stakeholders in the life sciences and innovation ecosystem and build capacity to combat future pandemics. The five Canadian research centers complement each other to ensure Canada is better prepared for future pandemics and health crises.

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