Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank you all for inviting my colleague and me to appear today to discuss Canada's response to COVID-19. My name is Dr. Karen Mossman and I am the acting vice-president, research, at McMaster University. I am also a professor in pathology and molecular medicine, and a virologist by training.
Very early on, my team was involved in isolating SARS-CoV-2, the agent responsible for the outbreak of COVID-19. Isolating and propagating the virus has enabled researchers across Canada to better understand the virus and work on potential solutions.
At McMaster University, our researchers pivoted very quickly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes working on the development of home test kits, leading a national trial for plasma transfusion and leading a trial on anti-coronavirus therapy. A great deal of work is being done across the university to innovate respiratory ventilators and N95 masks. Thanks to funding from the CIHR, my own lab is studying SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in human and bat cells.
The university is also doing its part as a member of the community. We donated our stock of personal protective equipment to our community hospital, and our residences are currently being used to host medical residents as needed.
Many of our researchers are at the forefront of the global coronavirus research. This pandemic is the very reason that we established our Institute for Infectious Disease Research. We have built infrastructure to respond to crises and outbreaks like COVID-19. One of our researchers with the institute, Dr. Dawn Bowdish, is currently looking at how the immune system responds to infection and will provide insight for the prevention and management of COVID-19 which may lead to potential treatments.
I will now pass it over to my colleague, Dr. Gerry Wright, who is the director of our Institute for Infectious Disease Research and who can speak more to the work that is being done there.
Thank you.