ARD platform members take centre stage at the 2020 Quebec Veterinary Congress
Source: RI-MUHC. “Veterinarians’ involvement is key,” says Lucie Côté, DMV, MBA, “in the approach to dealing with health threats shared by people, animals and the environment.”
The Director of the Animal Resources Division (ARD) at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) shared this message with a virtual audience of animal care specialists from across Quebec at the Congrès vétérinaire québécois [Quebec Veterinary Congress] 2020. One of three veterinary experts from the RI-MUHC invited to speak, Dr. Côté also organized the second-day session of the convention held November 27 and 28.
The event, sponsored by the Ordre des médecins vétérinaires du Québec, an organization tasked with overseeing the practice of Quebec’s 2,675 veterinarians, provided the virtual audience with more than an overview and update of research with animal models this year. Dr. Côté emphasized discourse on global efforts being undertaken to learn more about SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.
“Our veterinary colleagues wanted to know more about how we work with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in research facilities,” says Dr. Côté. “We shared how the biocontainment infrastructure at the RI-MUHC’s Containment Level 3 (CL3) Platform makes us uniquely positioned to help advance research on COVID-19, and how crucial veterinarians’ involvement is in the approach to dealing with global health threats.”
Eva Kaufmann, DMV, PhD, shared information about COVID-19 animal models from her work on SARS-CoV-2 as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Maziar Divangahi, PhD. Since March 2020, Dr. Kaufmann and her colleagues have been using their expertise to study the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and better understand how to fight this new virus.
“Our work is made possible by the skilled team members of ARD and the RI-MUHC’s CL3 facility,” says Dr. Kaufmann. “Their support enables us to make new discoveries in COVID-19 research and to contribute, we hope, to ending this pandemic soon.”
The third RI-MUHC speaker, Karine Sonzogni-Desautels, DMV, PhD, is conducting research as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Momar Ndao’s lab. She presented her work on murine models in research, particularly with respect to immunity.
“The concept of adoptive transfer allows for the transfer of passive immunity between two adult mice to determine which component of the immune system provides better protection against infection,” explains Dr. Sonzogni-Desautels. “This and many other aspects of the mouse model make it a powerful ally in the advancement of medical knowledge.”
About the Ordre des médecins vétérinaires du Québec (OMVQ)
The mandate of the OMVQ is to ensure the protection of the public. To this end, the Order supervises and monitors the practice of the profession and ensures the professional development of veterinarians, with the aim of fully contributing to public health and animal health and welfare.
About the ARD
The Animal Resource Division (ARD) at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) assists the research community in furthering the fundamental understanding of human biology and disease, with the goal of developing new cancer therapies, improving recovery from heart disease, understanding neurological disorders and finding new treatments for infectious diseases.
About the CL3
The Containment Level 3 (CL3) facility at the RI-MUHC is a state-of-the-art, multipod facility that meets the highest safety standards defined by Canadian Biosafety Standards and Guidelines.
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Dec. 15, 2020