Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to all of the committee members for inviting me to speak in front of the committee.
I am a medical microbiologist and infectious disease specialist at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal and full professor and director of the translational HIV research chair at the Université de Montréal, where I led two pan-Canadian cohorts on HIV research. I was the director of the Quebec public health laboratory from 2012 to 2015 and was co-chair of the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network during this period.
Today, I'm talking to you as a researcher, a clinician and a public health scientist.
Let's talk research. First, I want to congratulate the Canadian government on its rapid response to the pandemic with the investment of specific funds directed at COVID-19 research very early on in February, and then again in the month of May. There was an urgent need to support research teams already in place in order to advance innovation, mostly in treatment and vaccine development, to counter this pandemic. That's the good news, but there is still so much we need to learn to better understand this disease pathogenesis and, as well, to analyze our response to this pandemic and better prepare for the future.
To date, the funding opportunities that were launched were short-term opportunities only—less than a year—yet look at what needs to be done to win this battle. We have to characterize the host responses to the virus, such as, for example, what drives these multisystemic inflammatory responses and how to treat them; understand SARS CoV-2 replication and its genetic evolution over time; characterize the quality and durability of natural as well as vaccine-induced immunity in various populations, such as the immunosuppressed, the elderly and children; and, understand the dynamics of pandemics in terms of what went wrong, and whether we can build tools, models, to better predict the next phases or next pandemics.
All of this takes time—time and money. However, as I mentioned, the last funding opportunity was directed at one-year projects only. Over 1,800 applications were submitted, which reflects the interest and innovation potential of our Canadian research community, but only a few of these will be funded, and then what? There are no more announcements regarding future funding opportunities. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research cancelled their spring competition, and we don't know what will happen with the September competition, which is directed at research projects in all domains outside COVID-19.
It is urgent to invest more funds for COVID-19 research. The government needs to launch a phase three in its COVID-19 research investments. This phase should be directed at gaining three things. They are to get a better understanding of the virus and its complex interactions with humans; to better understand our immune responses; and, equally important for the future, to learn the clinical, social and epidemiological lessons from this pandemic in both the mid-term and the long term.
Furthermore, why not take the opportunity to create a research infrastructure to monitor viral diseases over decades? This observatory would follow a cohort of individuals across the country who regularly would donate blood and clinical data that would become an extraordinary platform to identify, characterize and predict future zoonotic viral illnesses.
From a clinical standpoint, I'm concerned about our preparedness for the second wave of the pandemic. Do we have enough personal protective equipment, swabs and reagents for laboratory testing in the fall? What does our stockpile look like right now? Will we be caught in the same unprepared situation as at the start of the pandemic? It seems vital that, both in the short term and long term, Canada be self-sufficient in terms of manufacturing these essential materials to manage an epidemic and protect our health care workers.
In addition, the current epidemic has highlighted the shortcomings of our health care systems, especially the shortage of personnel in all categories, from nursing aides to maintenance workers to nurses. Governments should reinforce training programs that will encourage young people to enter different health care professions, through scholarships, enhanced university programs combined with support for universities, and better working conditions for all personnel. They are the health care system.
Lastly, we've hardly touched on the use of new technology to manage epidemics. It's 2020. Artificial intelligence should be at the forefront of research activities. Tools should be developed to serve public health needs while respecting individual confidentiality. Artificial intelligence should become a research and development priority. The tools should be standardized across Canada to synergize our capacity to control a pandemic.
Many lessons will be learned from this pandemic. Researchers in basic science, public health, social science and clinical fields should play a pivotal role in analyzing the determinants of this crisis and preparing us for the next one. We must review our pandemic preparedness plans. The time has come to invest in research and to train the next generation so that these lessons are based on science and so that the solutions are anchored in evidence and sound scientific thought.
Thank you for your attention.