McGill BME
NSERC Alliance COVID-19 Grants
NSERC is providing up to $15 million in total support to stimulate collaborations between university academic researchers and the public and not-for-profit sectors, and industry to address pandemic-related research and technical challenges.
- Dr. David Juncker was awarded an NSERC Alliance COVID-19 grant to study a "COVID-19 test chip for simultaneous detection of SARS-CoV-2 and antibodies using a single non-invasive sputum sample" in partnership with Sensoreal Inc. Dr. Juncker was the first at McGill to receive an NSERC Alliance COVID-19 grant, and one of the first to receive the grant in Quebec.
COVID-19 Emergency Digital Health Task Force
This summer, McGill BME joined the COVID-19 Emergency Digital Health Task Force, led by Marc Saab, Founder and Managing Director at BML Technology Ltd., and McGill BME alumnus.
- The task force aims to leverage the digital health ecosystem to address innovation gaps and solve unmet medical needs. This is accomplished by providing Q&A, advice, and short reviews at no charge, on topics including: PPE and medical ventilators, wearable physiological monitoring, symptom detection and tracking, AI in healthcare, telemedicine, COVID-19 research proposals, Health Canada programs (MDEL, Interim Order), FDA programs (Emergency Use Authorization – EUA), and advice and mentoring for tech competitions.
- Anyone can visit the BML Technology website to set up a free meeting, request to join the task force, or simply to learn more.
In the Media
- One of Prof. Danilo Bzdok’s latest papers, appearing in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, has received ample media attention. See a summary of media coverage on the wide-ranging, negative consequences that social isolation has on our psychological well-being and physical health.
- David Juncker authored an article and was interviewed:
- Rapid COVID-19 saliva tests are the swatter that could squash the pandemic: will Canada deploy them? (by David Juncker, for The Hill Times)
- Interview with John Gormley (CKOM)
- Tweets featured in an article in the National Post
McGill News and Resources
The University has established a dedicated website for information and resources concerning the coronavirus, including specific information for:
Specific directives have been issued regarding the resumption of on-campus activities, including a useful toolkit.
Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty of Medicine also created a dedicated website for students, faculty, and staff specific to the Faculty, including information and resources for:
- Research and Graduate Studies,
- Schools and Educational Units, and
- Other Offices and Centres.
A specific website is dedicate to Building Access within the Faculty of Medicine.
Any further questions related to the coronavirus and the Department of Biomedical Engineering (those not addressed by the resources above) may be directed to admin.bme [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Coronavirus%2FBME)