MI4 Programs

Montréal Sans Hep C: Eliminating Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in Montreal

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection disproportionately affects vulnerable people with diverse needs who have been disenfranchised from health care. Consequently, infections continue to spread, early diagnosis and treatment are delayed, productivity is lost, and people suffer and die prematurely. Those most affected include people who inject drugs, immigrants, Indigenous peoples and men who have sex with men. To respond to this public health challenge, Montréal Sans Hép C has assembled an expert team of researchers with proven track records of excellence in viral hepatitis, addictions, epidemiology and public health. With community guidance, they will implement tailored approaches to rapidly reduce the number of undiagnosed people living with HCV, link them to care and cure them. Their goal is to make Montreal, a microcosm of the global epidemic, the first city in North America to eliminate HCV in a bold natural experiment that will reshape responses to infectious diseases and health care delivery for vulnerable populations. With co-funding from MI4, Montréal Sans Hép C has secured support from the Fonds de Soutien a l’Innovation en Santé et en Services Sociaux du Québec (FISISSS) in 2020.

A Phase I observer-blind trial of a Haemophilus influenzae serotype A (Hia) vaccine with and without alum adjuvant.

Haemophilus influenzae serotype a (Hia) is a potentially deadly infection that can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, septic arthritis and bloodstream infections. It is especially dangerous to at-risk children and immunocompromised adults. In 1988, a vaccine was created for its cousin strain, Haemophilus influenzae serotype b (Hib). Hia became an emerging infectious disease in the late 1990s. It has become a significant cause of invasive diseases largely in Indigenous northern populations in North America with around a 10% mortality rate. With the generous support of the Hewitt Foundation, secured in partnership with the MUHC Foundation, MI4 investigator Dr. Brian Ward is leading a consortium that includes the McGill University Health Centre Vaccine Study Centre, the Canadian Immunization Research Network, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the National Research Council (NRC), and InventVacc Biologicals to perform the first human trials of a vaccine for prevention of this deadly infection. The vaccine is preparing to begin its first clinical trial in Fall 2021.

Tiny Earth Antibiotic Discovery Lab

Building on the success of the undergraduate microbiology and immunology antimicrobial discovery laboratory course “Tiny Earth,” MI4 partnered with McGill Seeds of Change crowd fundraising platform and the McGill24 day of giving to support the development of an undergraduate discovery laboratory that enables motivated students to deepen their knowledge and take their own discoveries further into the antimicrobial development pipeline. The Tiny Earth Antibiotic Discovery Lab provides undergraduate students with summer research opportunities where, overseen by a faculty mentor and working under the direct supervision of a dedicated Discovery Lab coordinator, students can advance their self-directed learning in microbiology, bioinformatics, chemistry and related disciplines. Participants will receive mentorship in scientific communication skills and have the opportunity to present their data at national and international academic conferences and attend the antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related portions of the McGill Global Health summer school. We look forward to expanding this program to host enthusiastic high school and CEGEP-level aspiring scientists in AMR-related projects to establish a stronger pipeline and provide more opportunities.

Samantha Gruenheid

The Transdisciplinary Center for Biological Therapies (Biologics)

The use of biological therapies has increased markedly over the past decade. However, these treatments are not without adverse effects, such as severe infections or autoimmunity, and the data that are available through clinical trials are limited. The increasing use of these therapies across multiple disciplines, and the need to collect real-world data to understand their efficacy and toxicity, requires strategies that are broad and patient-focused. Thanks to a generous donation from the Doggone Foundation, MI4 is supporting the efforts of the Transdisciplinary Center for Biological Therapies (Centre Transdisciplinaire de Thérapies Biologiques or CTTB) to capture data on patients treated with biological therapies at the MUHC across the lifespan. Their goal is to develop the most extensive pool of data in the world that captures patterns of drug utilization, the frequency of rare and common infectious events and other side effects, and correlate biological sampling with outcomes. These data will be used to inform strategies for the safe and effective use of biological therapies across a wide range of human diseases.

Development and establishment of proactive surveillance tools for emerging vector-transmitted diseases in Quebec (VECTOR NET)

As a consequence of global warming, the number of Lyme Disease cases reported in Canada has increased exponentially in the last five years. In addition to Lyme Disease, ticks can also transmit a plethora of emerging infectious agents such as Anaplasma, Erhlichia and Babesia parasites. Co-infections caused by multiple pathogens encompass very complex and misleading symptoms and syndromes, leading to misdiagnoses and increased rates of treatment failure, amplifying patient suffering and frustration. There is an urgent need for rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic tests for Lyme Disease and other tick-transmitted infections. VectorNET brings together experts from the MUHC and the McGill Genome Centre to develop innovative point-of-care tests for the diagnosis and management of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses. In partnership with the MUHC Foundation, MI4 has secured funds in support of VectorNET from the Louise and Alan Edwards Foundation to perform the initial proof-of-concept studies to validate this approach, and create a prototype assay for the diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

Momar Ndao

David Langlais

Driver Somatic Mutations in Type I Diabetes

Type I diabetes is a non-curable autoimmune disease caused by destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta (β) cells. Evidence points to a strong role for genetics in determining the risk of Type I diabetes. This program brings together investigators from the RI-MUHC and Lady Davis Institute to identify and characterize genetic mutations that affect autoimmunity in patients with Type I diabetes in order to inform the development of new diagnostic tests and immunotherapies for this devastating condition. MI4 has partnered with the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation to secure support from the Liana’s Dream Foundation for this innovative program.

Ciriaco Piccirillo

Brent Richards

Constantin Polychronakos

Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases (ILD-SARDs): from Prediction to Cure

Systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARDs), including rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus and autoimmune myositis, are chronic, debilitating, painful conditions that cause substantial morbidity and mortality in patients, and disproportionately affect women. They are characterized by immune dysregulation, inflammation and auto-antibody formation which mediate multi-organ damage. The lung is a frequent target of autoimmune-mediated injury in patients with SARDs. In particular, pulmonary inflammation and scarring (fibrosis) called interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a major determinant of morbidity and mortality in SARDs. Fundamental knowledge gaps in this field include our inability to: predict which patients will develop ILD; understand and modulate cellular mechanisms responsible for ILD onset and progression; and provide therapeutic options to alter the course of ILD. We have assembled a team with the ability to tackle these fundamental problems. Building on the strength of longstanding and well characterized clinical cohorts, large genetic databases, novel modeling approaches, unique expertise in animal models, and translational biology we are in a unique position to unravel ways to ‘predict’ and ‘cure’ ILD in SARDs.

Silvia Vidal

Deborah Assayag

Inés Colmegna

Christian Pineau

Stand Up to Rheumatoid Arthritis (SUPRA)

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disfiguring and disabling arthritis that affects young women disproportionately. Although we have some excellent treatments, we do not know which treatment is best for which patient. We want to find ways to identify the right drug for the right patient at the right time. This is what personalized medicine is all about. We plan to use a new model of care and investigate new avenues, including sex and gender issues, diet and gut bacteria, to do this. We will also use new methods of analyzing complex information. We believe that our highly talented research team has what is needed to transform the care of people living with rheumatoid arthritis.

Marie Hudson

Inés Colmegna

Sasha Bernatsky