COVID-19 response: Meet our people

"When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, we all realized that Canada's access to personal protective equipment (PPE) relied heavily on overseas supply and there was limited infrastructure and expertise to develop and test PPE in Canada. The NRC COVID-19 Community Support program was put in place to support Canada's ecosystem in the development of 'Made-in-Canada' solutions to respond to the shortage. As a researcher for the Automotive and Surface Transportation Research Centre, my role in the program was to support Canadian companies developing masks, respirators and reprocessing systems, and help them find the right resources to test their products. I also helped Canadian labs develop their test capacities in collaboration with the NRC's Metrology Research Centre. I was highly impressed by the engagement and dedication of my colleagues from the NRC and other government agencies. It is very inspiring to see public servants with different backgrounds working together to find solutions and make things happen."

"I volunteered to prepare samples for the conditioning and testing of N95 respirators, applying knowledge I'd normally use in my job as an instrumentation and data acquisition specialist with the Construction Research Centre. The task is demanding, but it's also very rewarding to know that the work we are doing is helping to protect the lives of Canadians. It is critical to make sure respirators comply with Canadian health and safety requirements to protect those who wear them in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

"The NRC's Design and Fabrication Services team collaborated with the research community on multiple projects in response to COVID-19. These were challenging projects with a very tight timeline. It was very uplifting and motivating to work as a tightly knit unit in these unprecedented times. The team successfully delivered on its commitments and thus contributed to the collective NRC effort to supply Canada's front-line health workers with safe and effective protective gear. Thanks to the dedicated and supportive guidance from management, I am very happy to belong to such a highly professional and productive group, and I look forward to many more challenges in the field of cutting-edge ideas and technologies.

"I helped develop the COVID-19 Resources Canada portal and launch its reagents database. This portal is an important tool to help researchers and clinicians working on COVID-19 projects in Canada connect with one another and locate the human resources, expertise, and reagents they need to do their work. Collaboration is the key to fighting this pandemic—we're all in this together."

"Viral testing requires both enzymatic and chemical reagents to extract the SARS-CoV-2 virus from samples and positively identify it. We're experiencing a worldwide shortage of materials used in the extraction and amplification of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA (ribonucleic acid) genome for diagnostics.

We are now working on making both the reagents and enzymes that go into the testing kits for coronavirus, and distributing them to provincial public agencies and academia. This will help relieve the current shortage, and prevent such shortages in the future."

"We're working hard on upgrading the NRC's Royalmount facilities in Montréal. The Government of Canada has invested $44 million in funding that will enable us to prepare our facility to produce vaccines for clinical trials, as well as maintain operations and provide new infrastructure to fill and finish individual doses of vaccine as soon as one becomes available.

The exceptional nature of the current circumstances has facilitated strong collaboration with other government agencies and departments, like Health Canada. Thanks to this close collaboration, we can move a lot faster to get everything up and running in record time. In this unique and challenging time, to see that the NRC is stepping up to help is definitely something that we can be proud of."

"I am grateful and privileged to be enabling new opportunities that will drive forward some of the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre's greatest innovations in antigen and antibody detection technology to help Canada respond to current and future pandemic crises.

As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge program, our collaborative effort with the Medical Devices Research Centre and other key Canadian researchers and SMEs is creating a new "instrument-less" platform for the deployment of sustainable rapid detection and diagnosis tests in Canada. Our combined innovative research is building the foundation of Canada's future resilience in viral detection and pandemic monitoring. Physicists, engineers and biologists are working together with one goal: the best detection and protection for Canada's population, made in Canada by Canadian innovators!"

"As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge program, we are deploying NRC expertise and platform technologies in multiple areas of vaccine research. Our goal is to support the development and production of made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccines, particularly virus-like particle (VLP), subunit and viral vector vaccine candidates. These innovative vaccine technologies show great promise for combatting this and future pandemics."

"Much of the COVID-19 pandemic response focus has been placed on vaccine development to protect people for an eventual return to a more normal life. However, there is at the same time an urgent need to develop potent COVID-19 biologics to help treat people prone to be more seriously affected by this virus. We are working under the Pandemic Response Challenge program in collaboration with Canadian partners to develop promising therapeutic candidates such as neutralizing antibodies and non-antibody therapeutics. These treatments have a potential to save lives. Our 3 decades of research and development in mammalian cell expression platforms have been instrumental for responding rapidly to this challenge.

Since January 2020, the team of experts in rapid protein manufacturing has been working tirelessly at producing SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens. By collaborating with Canadian SMEs, universities, hospitals and other governmental agencies, we have deployed antigens for serological assays and to generate a collection of antibodies that can be used in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Our efforts are making a difference in Canada's fight against COVID-19 and will help us be ready for future pandemics."

"Understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and evolves is critical to elaborate a better and more targeted response to the COVID-19 pandemic. My team and I are working on a project called 'On-chip sample preparation for COVID-19 sequencing'. Our objective is to facilitate the deployment of a targeted genomic surveillance network of the virus based on genome sequencing technologies. One key challenge remains: the preparation of the clinical samples to rapidly extract the genetic material and prepare a library compatible with genomic sequencing. Currently, this is performed in large, centralized laboratories with an army of trained personnel. The PowerBlade technology, a portable microfluidic platform developed at the NRC, can automate the process to extract and prepare the genetic material. As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, we are developing the hardware, methods, and device architectures to create a novel tool to facilitate research on COVID-19 and prepare our national capacity for a quick, low-cost, reliable and personalized genomic network adapted to the patient's needs."

"The Medical Devices Research Centre plays a critical foundational role in the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, advancing science-based innovations that protect the health of Canadians. We are developing ground-breaking diagnostics capabilities for rapid and automated point-of-care testing, as well as, innovative digitally augmented solutions for next-generation virtual care and robust contactless sensing. Our research culture is to develop and deploy technologies to help Canadians stay healthy, now and moving forward."

"The pandemic has dramatically accelerated the move towards virtual care. As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, our team is focussing its research efforts on digital health. We are working on guidelines that will inform the development of digital platforms and functionalities to promote personalization, uptake and accessibility for the most vulnerable. I am proud to be contributing to this work."

"The pandemic has raised needs for more use of virtual care in Canada. Healthcare organizations and clinicians are moving at an extremely fast pace to offer a much needed health service to Canadians. However, clinicians and authorities expressed concerns with the ability of virtual care to reach all Canadians, especially vulnerable populations. As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, I am part of the team working on accessibility guidelines for virtual care software development and adoption. These guidelines are meant to facilitate use of virtual care software by elderly, cognitively disabled, and culturally diverse populations. They will entail critical directives for the industry to develop, and for the authorities to adopt them."

"The pandemic has raised needs for more use of virtual care in Canada. Healthcare organizations and clinicians are moving at an extremely fast pace to offer a much needed health service to Canadians. However, clinicians and authorities expressed concerns with the ability of virtual care to reach all Canadians, especially vulnerable populations. As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, I am part of the team working on accessibility guidelines for virtual care software development and adoption. These guidelines are meant to facilitate use of virtual care software by elderly, cognitively disabled, and culturally diverse populations. They will entail critical directives for the industry to develop, and for the authorities to adopt them."

"We are developing a constellation of our existing technology platform, the PowerBlade, to offer accessible and rapid detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and other viruses. For this second-generation technology, we are focussing on a redesign to simplify its use. The result will be a fully automated sample-to-answer system that requires little to no interaction by a user. We are working in partnership with Health Canada and the National Microbiology Laboratory to apply the right design considerations from the start, so that the instrument's hardware and software can achieve certification for use in clinical settings. This portable lab-on-a-chip device can be an essential, rapid, low-cost and reliable tool for detection of viruses during crisis situations, critical to aid our health professional increase the testing capacity. To slow the spread of the novel coronavirus across Canada, early diagnosis and isolation of patients with COVID-19 are essential and with the right tools, we can achieve this."

"COVID-19 has turned our lives upside down: within 2 weeks everyone was in lockdown, while uncertainty gave rise to increasing anxiety. As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, I am fortunate to be on the team working to develop a mental health platform that reflects our new reality. We are using the NRC's bWell platform to develop and deliver a host of solutions to clinicians. The initial versions of the application will address issues such as anxiety and isolation. Our challenge is to ensure a high level of accessibility and adaptability for users and practitioners alike."

"We are facing a worldwide viral pandemic. I have the privilege of leading a team taking on the challenge of developing rapid virus detection and identification technologies to help Canada respond to the evolving situation. As part of the Pandemic Response Challenge Program, our team is leading the rapid detection and diagnosis pillar. Our research will integrate molecular science, device technologies and advance data analytics in order to deploy technology on the front line while contributing to the creation of a national capacity for the future."

"The NRC is playing a key role in bringing together national stakeholders to address the urgent need to secure the domestic supply of COVID-19 testing swabs that are urgently needed for the health care system during this pandemic. Being appointed a 'SWAB team' member from the NRC's Medical Devices Research Centre, I worked closely with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Health Canada, the National Microbiology Laboratory, major hospitals, th NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program, the NRC's Automotive and Surface Transportation Research Centre, and most importantly the companies to re-tool their capacity to respond to the Government of Canada's call for producing 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 testing. This important task helps to streamline the regulatory approval processes involving testing and product improvement to deliver these new types of swabs to the front line at the most critical time."

"Personal protective equipment (PPE) must be tested to ensure safety and efficacy. While Canada relies on approved and trusted PPE suppliers, the COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a significant gap in the national capability to perform many of the required tests as we sought to build a supply outside the usual chain. This was most clear in the case of N95 respirators, and the NRC stepped in quickly to partner with the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop test capability to support qualification of imported lots. Going forward, the NRC will have a role in disseminating test capability throughout Canada and building the quality infrastructure to promote its long term viability."

"I have been assisting the Black Carbon Metrology team in the testing of N95 respirators for a collaboration project with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). We are providing PHAC with reliable measurements on mask efficiency in order to have scientific evidence supporting PHAC's decisions to release only qualifying respirators to Canada's essential workers. Since my regular research at the NRC is not focussed on COVID-19 efforts, it feels great to be able to help out during this pandemic. I'm so impressed with how quickly my colleagues have been able to develop and validate a method for respirator testing. Being involved reminds me that I do have an impact on our society and it's rewarding to be part of that collaboration."