U of G co-leading first national training program in One Health to prepare leaders for next pandemic

A new six-year training program co-led by researchers at the University of Guelph will use a One Health approach to build national capacity for the next pandemic – the first training of its kind in Canada.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research awarded U of G and other university, government and non-governmental organization partners $2.7 million to co-create the new bilingual training program, titled the Canadian One Health Training Program on Emerging Zoonoses (COHTPEZ). 

At U of G, the project will be led by Dr. Jane Parmley, professor in the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Population Medicine. The program will prepare Canada to identify and prevent disease threats, to limit their spread and impact on human and animal populations and to work collaboratively across disciplines and sectors to build health capacity.

As the majority of emerging pathogens come from a wildlife source, she notes, future pandemics will impact more than just human health, but also animal health, food security, ecological systems and the economy. Her career path has paved the way for this systems-level thinking. 

Using One Health, an approach that looks at human, animal and ecosystem health more holistically, the new COHTPEZ project is a vision of a connected community of leaders across academic, public and private sectors. It will build a highly skilled workforce that will learn from one another and see complex problems through a systems-level lens. 

Dr. Rene Van Acker, vice-president (research and innovation), says U of G will use its leadership in One Health to bring an innovative approach that will allow Canada to be proactive about the next pandemic while improving life throughout the country.  

Read the full story on the U of G news site: First National One Health Training Program to Prepare Leaders for Next Pandemic