Two Water Institute members will receive funding for equipment and tools to support COVID-19 research.
Their projects are among 79 across Canada named in an announcement today of close to $28 million in research infrastructure support through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Exceptional Opportunities Fund by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
Mark
Servos (Biology):
Wastewater
surveillance
of
SARS-CoV-2
to
support
public
health
assessment
of
trends
in
community
infection
($314,000)
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has rapidly emerged as an effective method to conduct independent surveillance of the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in communities. The signal of viral fragments in wastewater (measured using polymerase chain reactions, PCR) can be strongly correlated to the reported positive tests or hospitalizations in the corresponding population (sewer-shed). This can be an additional tool to monitor trends in communities and inform public health actions that are not influenced by the same biases in human health testing (e.g. non-symptomatic cases, etc.). The proposed infrastructure will increase the capacity of the Waterloo team to conduct detailed studies and therefore contribute to the implementation of the approach more broadly (e.g. nationally). The infrastructure including a Sample Preparation System (biosafety cabinet, centrifuges, freezers, incubator) and a Sample Analysis System (real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and digital PCR (dPCR)) will allow for accurate extraction and analysis of wastewater samples. Our team has been actively engaged in the development of WBE in Canada and will continue to: refine, develop and validate methods for application to various wastewater matrices; assess trends in SARS-CoV-2 detection in several representative communities; test alternate sample strategies and endpoints; and examine how environmental variables impact viral fragment detection in sewer systems and influence model predictions and interpretation.
Michael
Tam (Chemical
Engineering):
Advanced
engineering
processes
and
materials
to
produce
compostable
masks
and
antimicrobial
coatings
for
PPE
($800,000)
COVID-19 infections occur by inhaling water droplets expelled by infected individuals or by touching contaminated surfaces. N95 masks, surgical masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) for protection against infection are mainly produced from synthetic plastic fibers. Most PPE do not have antimicrobial properties, and viruses can persist on surfaces for days, posing a contamination risk to society. The team is proposing an interdisciplinary research program with industry and regulatory stakeholders to develop the next generation of PPE that address the two critical modes of transmission. The two key tasks include developing: (1) sustainable and compostable face masks and PPE, and (2) antimicrobial coatings and protective spray formulations for PPE and touch surfaces. The use of PPE produced from natural instead of synthetic fibers will advance Canada's vision of banning single-use plastics that is aligned with the United Nations' sustainable development goals. Both advances will deliver significant health and environmental benefits to essential workers and civilians. Innovations in sustainable nanomaterials and advanced layer deposition processes will foster new ventures and start-ups, generating economic activity that offers skilled employment for HQP trained in the lab. The technology developed with the requested infrastructure will invigorate the advanced manufacturing sector in Canada and help tackle COVID-19, climate change, and other challenges of the future.