Welcome to PRECISE - a pan-Canadian diagnostic Network that has been established to better prepare Canada against emerging infectious diseases.
COVID-19 has highlighted critical gaps in the Canadian pandemic preparedness strategy, especially in the biomanufacturing sector, including diagnostics. Operationally, the lack of a Canadian diagnostic strategy has limited our ability to efficiently detect, track and trace COVID-19 early in the pandemic, hence hampering our onward response.
PRECISE is a collaborative network project with multiple partners. Our partners include:
Rapid detection of currently endemic and emerging pathogens/diseases in our communities.
Identification of novel pathogens and their variants, along with an understanding of the downstream host response in infected individuals.
Accelerate the development, validation and implementation of diagnostic tests and data analytics.
Collaboration among knowledge users, including policymakers, clinicians, scientists, industry, and local communities.
PRECISE has activated the clinical protocol to enroll Canadian patients exposed to and infected with the Andes Virus Hantavirus linked the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak. PRECISE is collaborating with the World Health Organization to contribute data together with other global partners. With participants enrolled in Ontario and the study now extended to British Columbia, this work highlights PRECISE’s ability to rapidly respond to emerging infectious disease threats.
We are pleased to support 20 summer students across PRECISE sites throughout Ontario this year. In addition to hands-on research training at participating sites, PRECISE will offer its first introductory REDCap training session to provide students with exposure to research data management tools commonly used in clinical studies and trials. We also look forward to celebrating the students’ accomplishments at the end-of-summer symposium, where they will have the opportunity to present their work and enhance their presentation skills.
