CRM Expert Team in Epidemiology and Public Health

CRM Expert Team on Epidemiology and Public Health

The CRM is establishing an alliance of community forces to highlight research in the mathematics and the statistics of epidemiology and public health. This initiative by our director Luc Vinet and our deputy director Jean-Philippe Lessard is part of a concerted effort to understand and control COVID-19. In addition, many researchers involved are working on a wider range of viral diseases.

Specific activities of the expert team

June 19, 2020

Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Morgan Craig

LAUNCH of the Expert Team's Activities and conference: Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Online videoconference, recorded on June 19, 2020

This conference took place as part of the Colloque des sciences mathématiques CRM-ISM

A word of introduction is pronounced by Jacques Bélair, Project Manager of the CRM Expert Team on Epidemiology and Public Health.

Organizers : 

Henri Darmon (McGill University)
Jean-François Coeurjolly (UQAM)

May 8, 2020

Modelling of vaccination and treatment campaigns

Marie-Claude Boily, Simon de Montigny, Benoît Mâsse

Researchers involved in the team of experts

Biography

Jacques Bélair is Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Université de Montréal, which he joined in 1983 as an Assistant Research Professor. He had previously obtained a PhD in applied mathematics from Cornell University (supervisor: Philip J Holmes) and worked as an NSERC postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Physiology at McGill University (supervisor: Leon Glass). He has served as deputy director of the CRM and was also vice-dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies; he was President of the Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics Society (CAIMS) from 2009 to 2011. In 2019, he co-chaired the Organizing Committee of the Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB).

His research concerns mathematical modelling of dynamic regulatory processes in biology. In the past, he has been interested in various aspects of cardiac arrhythmias and motor control. He is currently studying the control of blood cell production (hematopoiesis) and associated pharmaceutical interventions, and the propagation of infectious diseases in general, and COVID-19 in particular. He is researcher affiliated with the Centre for Disease Modelling (CDM) based at York University and the Centre for Applied Mathematics in Bioscience and Medicine (CAMBAM) of McGill University.

 

Specific activities of the expert team

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

April 26, 2021 UdeMnouvelles

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes

Jacques Bélair, Morgan Craig, Simon de Montigny

Current activities COVID-19

August 27, 2020

Pandemics in films: unraveling mathematical modeling

Jacques Bélair

Part of the lecture series “Mathematics and COVID-19”, Jacques Bélair's closing lecture on pandemics in films.

April 9, 2020 Bulletin of the World Health Organization

Observation Wards and Control of the Transmission of COVID-19 in Wuhan

Jacques Bélair, Juan Li, Pei Yuan, Jane Heffernan, Tingting Zheng, Nick Ogden, Beate Sander, Jun Li, Qi Li, Jude Dzevela Kong, Elena Aruffo, Yi Tan, Zhen Jin, Yong Yu, Meng Fan, Jingan Cui, Zhidong Teng, Huaiping Zhu

In the media

March 21, 2021 Ici Radio-Canada Première

Jacques Bélair sur la modélisation épidémiologique et l'évolution de la pandémie

Jacques Bélair

May 28, 2020 Québec Science

COVID-19 : l'heure de gloire de la modélisation

Jacques Bélair

April 26, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Guillaume Piedboeuf

Le casse-tête du déconfinement

Jacques Bélair

Publications

January 1, 2016 Mathematical Biosciences, Science Direct

Modeling the spread and control of dengue with limited public health resources

Jacques Bélair, Ahmed Abdelrazec, Chunhua Shan, Huaiping Zhu

December 14, 2014 Université de Montréal, Papyrus

Modélisation mathématique de la propagation de la malaria

Jacques Bélair, Fidèle Niyukuri

Biography

Marie-Claude Boily is Professor in Mathematical Epidemiology at Imperial College London and an affiliated researcher at Centre de recherche du CHU Québec - Université Laval. 

Her research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections, in various settings using a combination of mathematical modelling, statistical, and empirical methods.  She aims to inform public health decision making and develop the field of mathematical modelling. Her team has been involved in studies to understand the transmission dynamics of infection and maximise the impact of various prevention tools (e.g. HIV treatment, vaccination, structural interventions), on HIV, Human papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections and diseases in the population. She also recently started to work on COVID-19, and currently is leading the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded HIV Prevention Trial Network (HPTN) Modelling Centre, which has the mission of designing and conducting mathematical modelling and computer simulation studies to inform HPTN research activities. 

Her studies, which strive to use the best epidemiological and clinical data, are often conducted in collaboration with multi-disciplinary and international collaborators, which help to translate her results into public health recommendations and actions locally and globally.  

 

Specific activities of the expert team

May 8, 2020

Modelling of vaccination and treatment campaigns

Marie-Claude Boily, Simon de Montigny, Benoît Mâsse

In the media

April 8, 2020 La presse, by Paul Journet

En attendant une meilleure solution…

Marie-Claude Boily

April 7, 2020 La presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le pic déjà atteint au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse, Marie-Claude Boily

Publications

October 21, 2010 Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

The ABC of terms used in mathematical models of infectious diseases

Marie-Claude Boily, Sharmistha Mishra, David N Fisman

Biography

David Buckeridge is Associate Professor at the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University. He holds a M.D. from Queen’s University, a M.Sc. in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, a Ph.D. in Biomedical informatics from Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada with specialty training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine. He is a medical consultant for the Institut National de la Santé Publique du Québec and the Institut National d’Excellence en Santé et en Services Sociaux du Québec. David Buckeridge also chairs the CIHR Institute Advisory on Health Promotion and Prevention.

For his research, he uses methods from biomedical informatics, computer science, epidemiology, biostatistics, and behavioral science to develop and evaluate the impact of software technologies that use Big Data to monitor population health and health systems, and to feedback information to guide the actions of consumers, health professionals, and decision makers. Previous and ongoing work includes the development of statistical methods for outbreak detection and the use of simulation modeling to evaluate surveillance systems.

In his clinical and knowledge translations activities, he advises governments in Canada and internationally regarding the implementation and effective use of evidence-based software technologies for health monitoring. Through this work, he has developed and implemented innovative software systems in Montreal and for the province of Quebec and has helped the Public Health Agency of Canada to define and evaluate their surveillance mandate. He has also contributed to the development of nationwide surveillance systems by the US and the Chinese Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and advised the European CDC on how to effectively use new technologies for health monitoring.

Research interests

Biosurveillance, public health, medical informatics

Current activities COVID-19

Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESS)

Projections du nombre d’hospitalisations pour les personnes atteintes de la COVID-19

David Buckeridge, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

In the media

September 24, 2020 Radio-Canada, par Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Pourquoi voit-on les infections augmenter, mais pas les décès ni les hospitalisations?

David Buckeridge

September 23, 2020 The Canadian Press, republished by CTV News

Second wave of COVID-19 in Quebec: Number of free hospital beds appears sufficient for now

David Buckeridge, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

September 23, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Les hôpitaux du Québec ne seront pas surchargés à court terme

David Buckeridge

August 25, 2020 CBC, by Colin Harris

Quebec won't use COVID-19 notification app for now

David Buckeridge

Biography

Arthur Charpentier is Full Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He obtained his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 2006 from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, was a Professor in the Faculty of Economics of Université Rennes 1 in France from 2008 to 2018 and was the director of the Data Science for Actuaries Program at the Institut des Actuaires in Paris, France.

He is working on risk modeling and insurance data. He published Computational Actuarial Science with R (CRC, 2014) and is the editor of the academic blog Freakonometrics (https://freakonometrics.hypotheses.org/). His recent researches are on machine learning and reinforcement learning. He worked on optimal control (on lockdown and testing) in the context of COVID-19 (https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.13.20100842).

 

Current activities COVID-19

May 20, 2020

COVID-19 pandemic control through extended SIR model | Paris Machine Learning

Arthur Charpentier

Paper Abstract : We consider here an extended SIR model, including several features of therecent COVID-19 outbreak: in particular the infected and recovered individualscan either be detected (+) or undetected (-) and we also integrate an intensive careunit capacity. Our model enables a tractable quantitative analysis of the optimalpolicy for the control of the epidemic dynamics using both lockdown and detectionintervention levers. With parametric specification based on literature on COVID-19, we investigate sensitivity of various quantities on optimal strategies, takinginto account the subtle tradeoff between the sanitary and the economic cost ofthe pandemic, together with the limited capacity level of ICU. We identify theoptimal lockdown policy as an intervention structured in 4 successive phases: Firsta quick and strong lockdown intervention to stop the exponential growth of thecontagion; second a short transition phase to reduce the prevalence of the virus;third a long period with full ICU capacity and stable virus prevalence; finallya return to normal social interactions with disappearance of the virus. We alsoprovide optimal intervention measures with increasing ICU capacity, as well asoptimization over the effort on detection of infectious and immune individuals.

Biography

Morgan Craig is Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the Université de Montréal and a Researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUSJ) in the Immune Disorders and Cancer group. Morgan Craig’s expertise is in quantitative medicine, a discipline integrating computational biology, (patho) physiology, and pharmaceutical sciences with traditional wet-lab and clinical biomedical approaches. The principal objective of her research is to tailor therapeutic interventions using mathematical modelling as complementary means to uncover the mechanisms that underlie healthy and pathological states and the dynamical evolution from one state to the other. She has previously developed predictive models in a variety of cancer applications that have been leveraged to tailor immunotherapies and reduce toxic side effects. A specific focus of her research is understanding hematopoietic crosstalk and resulting innate immune response.

Morgan Craig and her team, including in particular, the postdoctoral fellow Adrianne Jenner and student Sofia Alfonso, are focused on understanding differential immune responses in COVID-19 through multiscale mathematical models of the systemic immune response and localized infection dynamics in tissues. This work is carried out in collaboration with experimentalists and clinicians at CRCHUSJ and the SARS-CoV-2 Tissue Simulation Coalition (http://physicell.org/covid19/).

Specific activities of the expert team

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

April 26, 2021 UdeMnouvelles

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes

Jacques Bélair, Morgan Craig, Simon de Montigny

June 19, 2020

Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Morgan Craig

LAUNCH of the Expert Team's Activities and conference: Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Online videoconference, recorded on June 19, 2020

This conference took place as part of the Colloque des sciences mathématiques CRM-ISM

A word of introduction is pronounced by Jacques Bélair, Project Manager of the CRM Expert Team on Epidemiology and Public Health.

Organizers : 

Henri Darmon (McGill University)
Jean-François Coeurjolly (UQAM)

Current activities COVID-19

April 15, 2020 Centre de Recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine

La modélisation informatique pour lutter contre la COVID-19

Morgan Craig

In the media

June 11, 2020 Safety Radio, par voiceofthehwys

Computer algorithms find tumors' molecular weak spots

Morgan Craig

also reproduced by: https://www.f3nws.com/news/computer-algorithms-find-tumors-molecular-weak-spots-science-magazine-67a2b7907a3?utm_source=UdeMNouvelles&utm_campaign=d67a708224-RSS_RP_Publique&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5cf28dd13d-d67a708224-332162293

April 16, 2020 Medical Xpress, by Jeff Heinrich

Computer modelling to fight COVID-19

Morgan Craig

Videos

Biography

Simon de Montigny holds a doctorate in mathematics from Polytechnique Montréal. He is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the School of Public Health at the Université de Montréal, and a Researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine. His research in fundamental artificial intelligence focuses on learning artificial neural network based on postsynaptic signals. At the postdoctoral level, he developed simulations of experimental Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccines within the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and he collaborated with the HIV Prevention Trials Network Modeling Center to model the deployment of antiretroviral treatment programs and progress towards targets. 90-90-90 from UNAIDS and World Health Organization (WHO). 

More specifically his research focuses on the use of artificial intelligence for big data analysis in precision medicine and public health. In epidemiology of infections, it aims to design methods and tools to facilitate the generation of transmission models, the simulation of epidemics and the effect of public health interventions, and the automated and real-time integration of field data into these models and simulations.

Specific activities of the expert team

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

April 26, 2021 UdeMnouvelles

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes

Jacques Bélair, Morgan Craig, Simon de Montigny

May 8, 2020

Modelling of vaccination and treatment campaigns

Marie-Claude Boily, Simon de Montigny, Benoît Mâsse

Current activities COVID-19

July 9, 2020 Journal Métro, by François Carabin

COVID-19 : les personnes infectées ont deux fois plus de contacts qu’en mai

Simon de Montigny

In the media

May 17, 2021 The Canadian Press, by Jacob Serebrin

Quebec reports fewest new COVID-19 cases since September as it prepares to reopen

Simon de Montigny

October 28, 2020 Journal Métro

Cas de COVID-19: le Québec n’est plus le cancre du Canada

Simon de Montigny

September 16, 2020 Montreal Gazette, by Matthew Lapierre & Philip Authier

Legault concedes Quebec's pandemic projection data is out of date

Simon de Montigny

Also published in the Ottawa Citizen

June 17, 2020 La Presse, par Janie Gosselin

COVID-19: Pékin resserre ses mesures

Simon de Montigny

May 30, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Données sur la COVID-19 : peut-on vraiment se comparer aux autres?

Simon de Montigny

Biography

Andrea Lodi received his PhD in System Engineering from the University of Bologna in 2000 and he has been Herman Goldstine Fellow at the IBM Mathematical Sciences Department, NY in 2005-2006. He has been Full Professor of Operations Research at the Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering (DEI) at University of Bologna in Italy, between 2007 and 2015. Since 2015, he is holder of the Canada Excellence Research Chair in “Data Science for Real-time Decision Making” at Polytechnique Montréal. His main research interests are in Mixed-Integer Linear and Nonlinear Optimization and Data Science and his work has received several recognitions including the IBM and Google faculty awards. He is author of more than 100 publications in the top journals of the field of Mathematical Optimization and Data Science.

A large portion of Andrea Lodi’s applied work is in Healthcare with contributions in kidney transplantation, operating and emergency room scheduling and management, forecast and allocation of healthcare staff needs. He has been network coordinator and principal investigator of two large EU projects/networks, and, since 2006, consultant of the IBM CPLEX research and development team. Andrea Lodi is the co-principal investigator of the project "Data Serving Canadians: Deep Learning and Optimization for the Knowledge Revolution", funded by the Canadian Federal Government under the Apogée Programme and scientific co-director of the Montréal Institute for Data Valorization (IVADO).

Biography

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux holds the Canada Research Chair in Population Health Modeling. He is Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (EBOH) at McGill University. He previously worked as a researcher at Imperial College London after completing his Doctorate in Science at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (2015) and a postdoctoral training in Mathematical Epidemiology at Imperial College London.

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux has international field experience in Tanzania, Peru and Chile and has published in journals such as the International Journal of Drug Policy, AIDS and Behavior and the American Journal of Epidemiology. His work focuses on mathematical modeling, the epidemiology of infectious diseases and impact assessments and cost-effectiveness analyzes.

 

Research interests

Global Health, Infectious Disease, Population and Public Health

Current activities COVID-19

Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESS)

Projections du nombre d’hospitalisations pour les personnes atteintes de la COVID-19

David Buckeridge, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

In the media

September 23, 2020 The Canadian Press, republished by CTV News

Second wave of COVID-19 in Quebec: Number of free hospital beds appears sufficient for now

David Buckeridge, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

September 23, 2020 Montreal Gazette, by Matthew Lapierre

Quebec researchers project rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

September 4, 2020 CBC, by John MacFarlane

How to interpret Rt, a number to measure the pandemic in Quebec

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

Biography

Benoît Mâsse is Professor in Biostatistics at the Université de Montréal since 2010 and  joined the Research Center at CHU Ste-Justine. Previously, he worked for 11 years at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. In 2006, he received a 7-year grant of over $US 25 millions from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the Principal Investigator responsible for establishing the Statistical Data Management Center for providing support to all international Phase I-II-III trials and observational studies conducted within the Microbicide Trials Network. Currently, he is directing the Applied Clinical Research Unit (URCA) at CHU Ste-Justine where he has established the infrastructure to support the conduct of clinical and observational studies.

He was the lead senior statistician for the landmark HPTN 052 trial and contributed significantly to the unique design of this trial. HPTN 052 is the first randomized clinical trial to show that treating an Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individual with antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the risk of sexual transmission of HIV to an uninfected partner. Based on these results, the HPTN 052 study was named Scientific Breakthrough of the Year in 2011 by Science magazine. According to Science, the study was selected for its “profound implications for the future response to the AIDS epidemic.”

In 2014, Benoît Mâsse was chairing the International Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the Ebola vaccine trial in Guinea (Ebola: Ça Suffit). This was the first trial that showed the efficacy of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine. Currently, he is chairing the International DSMB for the vaccine expanded access study for the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In December 2019, the National Geographic selected the HPTN 052 and the Ebola: Ça Suffit trials as the top 20 discoveries of the last decade (all research field combined).

Specific activities of the expert team

May 8, 2020

Modelling of vaccination and treatment campaigns

Marie-Claude Boily, Simon de Montigny, Benoît Mâsse

In the media

September 15, 2022 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

La pandémie, la « patate chaude » électorale

Benoît Mâsse

September 1, 2022 Santé, by Isabelle Paré

Les femmes occupent plus de lits d’hôpital que les hommes

Benoît Mâsse

March 13, 2022 TVA Nouvelles, by Julien Bouthillier

Les cas de COVID-19 augmentent dans plusieurs pays: doit-on s'inquiéter d'une 6e vague au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

March 7, 2022 La Presse +, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Et si tout le Québec était triplement vacciné ?

Benoît Mâsse

February 19, 2022 La Presse +, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Covid: À quoi ressemblera votre printemps?

Benoît Mâsse

February 18, 2022 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Que veut dire « vivre avec le virus »?

Benoît Mâsse

February 9, 2022 Montreal Gazette, by René Bruemmer

Public health experts say gradually dropping COVID-19 restrictions is the right call by Quebec

Benoît Mâsse

February 6, 2022 Le Journal de Montréal, by Laurent Lavoie

Malgré le vaccin, 1551 morts liées à la COVID-19 en janvier au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

January 31, 2022

Le déconfinement arrive-t-il au moment opportun?

Benoît Mâsse

January 21, 2022 La Presse, by Suzanne Colpron

Ailleurs, ça déconfine

Benoît Mâsse

January 20, 2022 La Presse +, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Capacité hospitalière: le Québec en queue de peloton du G7

Benoît Mâsse

January 17, 2022 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Toujours pas de troisième dose pour les ados

Benoît Mâsse

January 17, 2022 Le Soleil, by Louis-Denis Ebacher

Le nouveau médicament de Pfizer n’est pas une panacée

Benoît Mâsse

January 16, 2022 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Si Omicron est moins sévère avec les individus, il n’épargne pas les systèmes de santé

Benoît Mâsse

January 13, 2022 La Presse +, by Ariane Krol

Immunité collective: un espoir nommé Omicron

Benoît Mâsse

January 6, 2022 Montreal Gazette, by Katelyn Thomas

Quebec could have done more to avoid latest COVID-19 crisis, health experts say

Benoît Mâsse

December 15, 2021 La Presse +, by Ariane Lacoursière

Noël, à vos risques et périls

Benoît Mâsse

December 5, 2021 La Presse, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Que nous réserve (encore) la COVID ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 22, 2021 L'actualité, by Valérie Borde

Quels sont les risques d’une cinquième vague ?

Benoît Mâsse

October 13, 2021 Ici Radio-Canada Première

La vaccination contre la COVID-19 des enfants de 5 à 11 ans

Benoît Mâsse

September 29, 2021 La Presse, by Louise Leduc

Déploiement à grande échelle dans les régions les plus touchées

Benoît Mâsse

September 17, 2021 La Presse, by Mathieu Perreault

Les vaccins changent de nom au pays

Benoît Mâsse

July 22, 2021 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Doit-on craindre le variant Delta au Canada?

Benoît Mâsse

July 11, 2021 Journal de Montréal, by Laurent Lavoie

Une troisième dose pourrait compliquer l’effort vaccinal

Benoît Mâsse

July 1, 2021 ICI Radio-Canada Première

Demande du Canadien de Montréal d'accueillir 10 500 partisans au Centre Bell

Benoît Mâsse

June 7, 2021 La Presse, by Suzanne Colpron

Pourquoi frottons-nous encore autant ?

Benoît Mâsse

May 22, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Peut-on atteindre l'immunité collective?

Benoît Mâsse

May 18, 2021 Le Devoir, by Marie-Eve Cousineau

De quoi l’été pandémique sera-t-il fait?

Benoît Mâsse

May 4, 2021 La Presse, par by Catherine Handfield

Que nous réservent les prochains mois ?

Benoît Mâsse

May 2, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

La quarantaine, même pour les snowbirds vaccinés

Benoît Mâsse

April 26, 2021 Ici Radio-Canada Première

Benoît Mâsse sur le taux de vaccination pour atteindre l'immunité collective

Benoît Mâsse

March 16, 2021 Québec Science, by Marine Corniou

Suspension du vaccin d’AstraZeneca en Europe : excès de prudence?

Benoît Mâsse

February 27, 2021 La Presse, by Janie Gosselin

Un passeport vaccinal, s'il vous plaît ?

Benoît Mâsse

February 25, 2021 qub.radio, by Geneviève Pettersen

Le masque est nécessaire pour garder les écoles ouvertes, affirme un épidémiologiste

Benoît Mâsse

February 23, 2021 Montreal Gazette, by Jesse Feith

Nearly 850 Quebec schools reporting COVID-19 cases

Benoît Mâsse

February 22, 2021 La Presse, by Stéphanie Marin

Plus d’écoles fermées au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

February 21, 2021 Le Journal de Montréal, by Erika Aubin

La ligne dure pour freiner les variants dans les écoles

Benoît Mâsse

February 19, 2021 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel and Mylène Crête

Le Canada bientôt en mesure de rattraper son retard dans la vaccination

Benoît Mâsse

February 19, 2021 TVA Nouvelles

Nouvelle vague de variants : «ça commence à décoller»

Benoît Mâsse

February 17, 2021 98.5fm.ca

Pandémie et variants : les 8 prochaines semaines seront critiques

Benoît Mâsse

February 13, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Une seule dose suffirait après une infection

Benoît Mâsse

February 12, 2021 La Presse, by Alice Girard-Bossé

Une mesure qui arrive trop tard, selon des experts

Benoît Mâsse

February 11, 2021 Montreal Gazette, by Katelyn Thomas

Time is ticking on COVID-19 variant detection in Quebec

Benoît Mâsse

February 7, 2021 La Presse +, by Antoine Trussard and Léa Carrier

Les experts retiennent leur souffle

Benoît Mâsse

February 5, 2021 La Presse +, by Alice Girard-Bossé

La tendance à la baisse devrait se poursuivre... À une condition

Benoît Mâsse

February 4, 2021 CBS News, by Verity Stevenson and Benjamin Shingler

COVID-19 variants and vaccine delays loom large as Quebec loosens restrictions

Benoît Mâsse

February 3, 2021 https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/covid-19/assouplissements-et-variants-prudence-disent-des-specialistes-2be730638a86b31003c92e47a6ba64b3?utm_source=UdeMNouvelles&utm_campaign=297b12eb72-RSS_RP_Publique&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5cf28dd13d-297b12eb72-332581258

Assouplissements et variants: prudence, disent des spécialistes

Benoît Mâsse

February 2, 2021 La Presse +, by Pierre-André Normandin and Alice Girard-Bossé

« Des résultats encourageants »

Benoît Mâsse

February 2, 2021 La Presse +, by Alice Girard-Bossé

Québec déploiera davantage de tests rapides

Benoît Mâsse

February 2, 2021 L'actualité, by Benoît Mâsse

COVID-19 : le parachute des preuves

Benoît Mâsse

January 29, 2021 La Presse, by Louise Leduc

Hausse des cas chez les jeunes, comme prévu

Benoît Mâsse

January 29, 2021 La Presse, by Alice Girard-Bossé

Les variants, une menace au contrôle de la pandémie

Benoît Mâsse

January 28, 2021 La Presse, by Marc Thibodeau

Le Québec pressé d’accélérer le rythme

Benoît Mâsse

January 23, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Un variant plus mortel, un autre plus résistant

Benoît Mâsse

January 19, 2021 Montreal Gazette, by René Bruemmer

Too early to say if Quebec's drop in COVID-19 cases will continue, experts say

Benoît Mâsse

January 19, 2021 Québec Science, by Marine Corniou

Les vaccins contre la COVID-19 présentent-ils un risque pour les personnes très âgées?

Benoît Mâsse

January 16, 2021 98.5fm.ca

Moins de doses de vaccin livrées par Pfizer au Canada

Benoît Mâsse

January 15, 2021 La Presse, by Chantal Guy

Quand la science prend le micro

Benoît Mâsse

January 14, 2021 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Plus de 100 000 doses des vaccins contre la COVID-19 administrées

Benoît Mâsse

January 13, 2021 Global News, by Saba Aziz

Coronavirus vaccine a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for LTC homes

Benoît Mâsse

January 10, 2021 La Presse +, by Antoine Trussard

Le cap des 3000 cas franchi pour la première fois

Benoît Mâsse

January 9, 2021 La Presse +, by Émilie Bilodeau, Katia Gagnon and Ariane Lacoursière

Campagne de vaccination au québec, faux départ

Benoît Mâsse

January 8, 2021 Head Topics

Effectiveness of Quebec COVID-19 curfew unclear

Benoît Mâsse

January 8, 2021 La Presse, by Louise Leduc

Sécuritaire, la rentrée scolaire ?

Benoît Mâsse

January 8, 2021 Droit-Inc, Radio-Canada

Québec sommé d'offrir une 2e dose de vaccin

Benoît Mâsse

January 7, 2021 La Presse +, by Antoine Trussard

Plus confinés que jamais

Benoît Mâsse

January 7, 2021 Windsor Star, by Morgan Lowrie

Outbreak grows in vaccinated Quebec care home, expert says it was to be expected

Benoît Mâsse

January 6, 2021 National Post, by Morgan Lowrie

Quebec long-term care residents threaten legal action to get second vaccine dose

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 La Presse, by Éric-Pierre Champagne

La campagne de vaccination devrait s’accélérer au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 Le Journal de Montréal, by Annabelle Blais

Le Canada très loin derrière Israël

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 La Presse, by Gabriel Béland and Pierre-André Normandin

Les « partys » de noël montrés du doigt

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 Ici Première, Midi info, with Michel C. Auger

La rapidité de la vaccination

Benoît Mâsse

January 4, 2021 Le Devoir, by Annabelle Caillou

Un confinement plus long et plus strict déjà réclamé

Benoît Mâsse

January 3, 2021 Radio-Canada, by Fanny Samson

Le confinement sera-t-il prolongé après le 11 janvier au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

January 2, 2021 HuffPost, by Mathieu Paquette

COVID-19: les bilans des prochains jours seront déterminants, selon des experts

Benoît Mâsse

December 30, 2020 TVA Nouvelles, by Dominique Lelièvre

CHSLD Saint-Antoine: l’éclosion de COVID-19 dégénère malgré les premières injections

Benoît Mâsse

December 30, 2020 La Presse, by Mayssa Ferah and Henri Ouellette-Vézina

Utiliser toutes les doses reçues sans attendre ?

Benoît Mâsse

December 29, 2020 Le Devoir, by Boris Proulx and Mylène Crête

Lent décollage pour la vaccination au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

December 29, 2020 Le Devoir, by Annabelle Caillou

Le coronavirus muté pourrait être déjà installé au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

December 16, 2020 CBS, by Jonathan Montpetit

Quebec's new lockdown a harsh reminder the COVID-19 end game is still several moves away

Benoît Mâsse

December 16, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Naël Shiab

Voici pourquoi Noël a été annulé

Benoît Mâsse

December 10, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Alexandre Coupal

COVID-19 : faut-il annuler le mondial de hockey junior à Edmonton?

Benoît Mâsse

December 10, 2020 La Presse, by Mélanie Marquis

COVID-19 Vaccination que le marathon commence

Benoît Mâsse

December 9, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Un vaccin en attente du feu vert de Santé Canada

Benoît Mâsse

December 9, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Reconfiner, une fausse bonne idée, disent des experts

Benoît Mâsse

December 8, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Les nouveaux vaccins à ARNm en 4 questions

Benoît Mâsse

December 7, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Tout un matin

Explosion des cas de COVID-19 au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

à 6 h 52

December 7, 2020 Radio-Canada, by François Messier

Plaidoyer pour remettre le Québec « sur pause » pendant les Fêtes

Benoît Mâsse

December 5, 2020 La Presse, by Tommy Chouinard and Pierre-André Normandin

La surmortalité allume un « feu jaune » à Québec

Benoît Mâsse

December 4, 2020 La Presse, by Ariane Lacoursière

Interdiction des rassemblements à Noël : le réseau de la santé soulagé

Benoît Mâsse

December 3, 2020 La Presse, by Alexandre Gascon

Le vaccin ne sort pas encore la LNH du pétrin

Benoît Mâsse

December 2, 2020 L'actualité, by Valérie Borde

Les scientifiques qui nous aident à comprendre : Montrer la voie

Benoît Mâsse

December 2, 2020 L'actualité, by Benoît Mâsse

Vaccin : à qui les premières doses ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 17, 2020 Journal Métro

Coronavirus: éviter le dépistage massif à l’approche des Fêtes

Benoît Mâsse

November 16, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Le vaccin contre la COVID-19 sera-t-il bien accepté par la population?

Benoît Mâsse

November 16, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

COVID-19 : teste-t-on dans le vide?

Benoît Mâsse

November 16, 2020 Radio-Canada RDI

Un vaccin, efficace à 94,5% ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 15, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Gaëlle Lussiaà-Berdou

COVID-19 : un vaccin efficace, c’est quoi?

Benoît Mâsse

November 13, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Le 15-18

État de la situation sur la Covid-19: entrevue avec Benoît Masse

Benoît Mâsse

November 12, 2020 Ici Radio-Canada Nouveau-Brunswick

L’Atlantique fait toujours figure d’exception dans la lutte contre la COVID-19

Benoît Mâsse

November 11, 2020 La Presse, by Tommy Chouinard and Henri Ouellette-Vézina

De « petits partys » pour le temps des fêtes ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 10, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Toutes les réponses à vos questions sur le vaccin de Pfizer

Benoît Mâsse

November 9, 2020 Québec Science, by Marine Corniou

Vaccin contre la COVID-19 : Pfizer et BioNTech annoncent des résultats prometteurs

Benoît Mâsse

November 8, 2020 La Presse, by Mayssa Ferah et Éric-Pierre Champagne

Bon de plus de 1200 cas au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

La situation, en proportion, est pire au Manitoba et en Alberta

November 7, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Des trousses d’autodépistage pour faire avancer l’éradication du sida au pays

Benoît Mâsse

November 1, 2020 Le Journal de Montréal

COVID-19: réduire les cas pour sauver le système de santé… et Noël

Benoît Mâsse

October 31, 2020 La Presse, by Véronique Lauzon and Pierre-André Normandin

Le Québec maîtrise mieux sa deuxième vague

Benoît Mâsse

October 30, 2020 Le Devoir, by Marie-Eve Cousineau

La bataille sanitaire contre la COVID-19 se livre avec trop peu de soldats

Benoît Mâsse

October 28, 2020 La Presse, by Tristan Péloquin and Pierre-André Normandin

Les déplacements ont chuté bien avant les consignes

Benoît Mâsse, Simona Bignami

October 28, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Facteur Rt: c’est bien, mais ce n’est pas suffisant

Benoît Mâsse

October 27, 2020 La Presse, by Véronique Lauzon, Pierre-André Normandin, Marie-Eve Morasse

28 jours, prise 2

Benoît Mâsse, Roxane Borgès Da Silva

Le premier ministre a ainsi annoncé la reconduction des mesures restrictives en zone rouge pour 28 jours supplémentaire

October 26, 2020 Ici RDI

Mesures prolongées en zone rouge

Benoît Mâsse

October 26, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Infecter des gens volontairement pour le développement d'un vaccin, est-ce éthique?

Benoît Mâsse, Bryn Williams-Jones

October 24, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Comment les scientifiques déterminent-ils l’efficacité d’un vaccin?

Benoît Mâsse, Bryn Williams-Jones

October 23, 2020 Radio-Canada, Ici Première

Une deuxième vague en mode rattrapage?

Benoît Mâsse

October 16, 2020 La Presse, by Catherine Handfield

Que peut-on espérer pour Noël?

Benoît Mâsse

October 13, 2020 L'actualité, par Benoît Mâsse

Même avec un vaccin, la fin de la pandémie est encore loin

Benoît Mâsse

October 9, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

COVID-19 : « Nous ne pouvons pas seulement réagir au nombre de nouveaux cas »

Benoît Mâsse

October 8, 2020 Le Devoir, by Michel Vastel

Québec boude l’aide d’Ottawa pour retrouver les contacts

Benoît Mâsse

October 8, 2020 Yahoo! news, by Allison Lampert

Quebec's new social gathering curbs risk dragging on as COVID-19 cases rise

Benoît Mâsse

October 7, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Vingt-huit jours, et ce n’est qu’un début

Benoît Mâsse

October 7, 2020 Le Devoir, by Jeanne Corriveau and Isabelle Paré

Fêter l’Halloween autrement?

Benoît Mâsse

October 5, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, L'heure du monde

L'application Alerte COVID au Québec: entrevue avec Benoit Mâsse

Benoît Mâsse

October 3, 2020 La Presse, by Caroline Touzin, Ariane Lacoursière, Émilie Bilodeau et Gabrielle Duchesne

Retard dans les embauches et analyses «à la mitaine»

Benoît Mâsse

En pleine deuxième vague de COVID-19, le manque de personnel et les lacunes du système informatique ralentissent les enquêtes épidémiologiques, cruciales dans la lutte contre le virus.

September 30, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Tout un matin

Lancement d'une application de traçage au Québec : « on a écoulé presque toutes les options »

Benoît Mâsse

September 28, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici télé, Le Téléjournal

Comment freiner la deuxième vague?

Benoît Mâsse

September 26, 2020 Le Devoir, by Jessica Nadeau et Marie-Eve Cousineau

Des employés de CHSLD en attente de dépistage sont tenus de travailler

Benoît Mâsse

September 26, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Ahmed Kouaou

Le malheur de Montréal fera-t-il le bonheur des régions?

Benoît Mâsse

September 24, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Midi-Info

Traçage de la COVID et analyse du discours du Trône

Benoît Mâsse

September 22, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Le 15-18

Covid-19 et applications de traçage

Benoît Mâsse

September 19, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Danielle Beaudoin

COVID-19 : il faut encore plus de dépistage pour espérer briser une deuxième vague

Benoît Mâsse

September 19, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Un membre du Groupe de travail sur les vaccins contre la COVID-19 démissionne

Benoît Mâsse

September 11, 2020 Radio-Canada Ottawa, based on informations provided by Frédéric Pépin and Claudine Richard

La COVID-19, six mois après le premier cas à Ottawa

Benoît Mâsse

September 10, 2020 TVA Nouvelles, Le Journal de Montréal

Une soirée arrosée dans un bar comme si la COVID n’existait pas

Benoît Mâsse

September 4, 2020 L'actualité, by Camille Lopez

Covidences : vraies confidences, fausses conclusions

Benoît Mâsse, Sylvana Côté

September 3, 2020 Radio-Canada, interviewed by Michel C. Auger

Le point sur les éclosions au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

September 3, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Les «bulles-classes», un modèle imparfait, qui permet de garder les écoles ouvertes

Benoît Mâsse

September 2, 2020 La Presse, by Marie-Eve Morasse and Louise Leduc

Hors de la classe, les bulles éclatent

Benoît Mâsse

August 18, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Hachey

Une rentrée, deux solitudes

Benoît Mâsse

August 12, 2020 Le Jeune Indépendant, by Mohamed Mecelti

Vaccin russe: un grand pas contre la Covid-19

Benoît Mâsse

July 31, 2020 Radio-Canada, from a text by John MacFarlane, Jonathan Montpetit and Roberto Rocha de CBC

La deuxième vague de COVID-19 s'en vient, voici ce qu'anticipent des experts

Benoît Mâsse

July 30, 2020 CBC Montreal, by John MacFarlane, Jonathan Montpetit, Roberto Rocha

The 2nd wave is coming. Here's what public health experts say we should expect

Benoît Mâsse

July 18, 2020 Le Journal de Montréal, by Hugo Duchaine

Une deuxième vague pourrait être encore pire

Benoît Mâsse

July 17, 2020 Le Soleil, Le Droit, Le Quotidien, by Maxime Bilodeau, Agence Science-Presse

Non, les modèles épidémiologiques ne servent pas à prédire le futur

Benoît Mâsse

July 16, 2020 La Presse, par Suzanne Colpron

« S’il n’était pas allé à l’hôpital, il serait encore vivant »

Benoît Mâsse

July 14, 2020 CBC Montreal, by Jonathan Montpetit

With uptick in COVID-19 cases, Quebec could be forced to choose between schools and bars

Benoît Mâsse

July 14, 2020 Pieuve.ca, by Agence Science-Presse

Impossible de prédire le futur avec les modèles épidémiologiques

Benoît Mâsse

July 11, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Déconfinement : quelles sont les activités les plus risquées?

Benoît Mâsse

July 10, 2020 Ici Radio-Canada Première

Le confinement était-il une bonne idée?

Benoît Mâsse

July 7, 2020 La Presse, par Philippe Mercure

Vers un registre des clients des bars et des restaurants?

Benoît Mâsse

July 5, 2020 Montreal Gazette, by René Bruemmer

A trail of death, sorrow and what-ifs: How COVID spread in Montreal

Benoît Mâsse

July 1, 2020 La Presse, by Tristan Péloquin

Huit ou neuf contacts par jour feraient exploser les cas

Benoît Mâsse

June 30, 2020 TVA Nouvelles, Le Journal de Montréal, by Maude Ouellet

Mesures sanitaires : pas simple de s’y retrouver

Benoît Mâsse

June 29, 2020 La Presse, by Ariane Lacoursière et Philippe Mercure

Arruda inquiet du « relâchement » des Québécois

Benoît Mâsse

June 29, 2020 Le Devoir, by Brian Miles

Fragile transparence

Benoît Mâsse

June 27, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Distanciation à géométrie variable

Benoît Mâsse

June 18, 2020 L'actualité, par Camille Payant (avec Camille Lopez)

Une appli de traçage, c’est quoi ?

Benoît Mâsse

June 16, 2020 Radio-Canada, par Romain Schué

Il n'y aura plus de cliniques de dépistage dans des autobus à Montréal

Benoît Mâsse

June 15, 2020 Radio-Canada, par Ximena Sampson

Quand et comment pourra-t-on rouvrir la frontière avec les États-Unis ?

Benoît Mâsse

June 6, 2020 Mirage News

La recherche de contacts pour sauver des vies

Benoît Mâsse

June 2, 2020 La Presse

Trop sévères, les nouvelles règles sanitaires?

Benoît Mâsse

June 2, 2020 Le Devoir

Ces enquêteurs sur la trace du coronavirus

Benoît Mâsse

May 31, 2020 LaPresse

La bataille de Montréal : l'armée en déroute

Benoît Mâsse

May 30, 2020 Le Soleil

Après le « R0 », voici le «k»

Benoît Mâsse

May 28, 2020 La Presse, by Marc Thibodeau

Un cas dès décembre au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

May 23, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Faut-il craindre une deuxième vague  au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

May 23, 2020 The Washington Post, by Amanda Colette

Quebec, Canada’s hardest-hit province, is also the most aggressive about reopening

Benoît Mâsse

May 14, 2020 Radio-Canada, Tout un matin, avec Patrick Masbourian

COVID-19, a-t-on atteint un plateau de décès?

Benoît Mâsse

May 14, 2020 Radio-Canada Télé, par Frédéric Arnould

Le traçage, une mesure cruciale pour limiter la propagation du coronavirus

Benoît Mâsse

May 14, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le nombre de décès diminue... vraiment?

Benoît Mâsse

May 12, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Des règles claires réclamées pour le déconfinement

Benoît Mâsse

May 9, 2020 La Presse, par Émile Bilodeau, Katia Gagnon, Ariane Krol, Ariane Lacoursière et Marc Thibodeau

Le Québec est-il prêt?

Benoît Mâsse

April 30, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le Québec n’est pas encore prêt pour le déconfinement

Benoît Mâsse

April 7, 2020 La presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le pic déjà atteint au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse, Marie-Claude Boily

Biography

Erica E. M. Moodie obtained her MPhil in Epidemiology in 2001 from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Biostatistics in 2006 from the University of Washington, before joining McGill University where she is now a William Dawson Scholar and Associate Professor of Biostatistics. Her main research interests are in causal inference and longitudinal data with a focus on adaptive treatment strategies. She is an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute, and an Associate Editor of Biometrics. She holds a Chercheur-Boursier senior career award from the Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé. She is the recipient of the 2020 CRM-SSC Prize in Statistics.

She is working with a team led by Nicole Basta on public awareness of SARS-Cov-2 vaccine development, and with the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to understand the interplay of frailty and SARS-CoV-2 infection among the elderly.

Specific activities of the expert team

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

Biography

Louis-Martin Rousseau is a Full Professor at Polytechnique Montréal and holder of a Canada Research Chair in Healthcare Analytics and Logistics. His research focuses on solving complex routing problems, personnel rostering problems, as well as integrated decision problems which appear in supply chain both in retail and in healthcare. To address theses issues, he puts forward hybrid methodologies based on constraint programming and classical operations research. As the field of personalized medicine emerges, it is believed that there will be enormous challenges in the interaction between individual treatment planning and execution in terms of limited and expensive medical resources. In particular, Louis-Martin Rousseau is conducting research in areas where population aging is going to have a big impact, namely: cancer treatment, homecare services and hospital logistics.

Current activities COVID-19

Videos

Biography

Alexandra M. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (EBOH) at McGill University. She is currently the Program Director of the Biostatistics Graduate Program of EBOH.

She is Fellow of the American Statistical Association and an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute. In 2017 she was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Medal from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and the Environment. In 2008, she received the Abdel El-Shaarawi Young Investigator Award, from The International Environmetrics Society. She was President of the International Society for Bayesian Analysis (2015).

Her main area of research is on the development of statistical models for spatio-temporal processes under the Bayesian framework. Her main projects involve the development of models for multivariate spatio-temporal processes that preclude the use of any transformation to attain normality. She is also developing models to understand the spread of cases of dengue fever, Zika, and chikungunya across the neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro during the first joint epidemic the city experienced between 2015 and 2016.

Specific activities of the expert team

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

Biography

David A. Stephens is Full Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University since 2006. He obtained a Ph.D. In Statistics from the University of Nottingham, UK in 1990 under the supervision of Prof. Adrian F. M. Smith. He was the Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics from 2015-2019 and he is the Vice-Dean in the Faculty of Science since April 2019.

His research interests are Bayesian statistics: methodological and computational methods. Specific areas of interest include bioinformatics, biostatistics and time series analysis.

Specific activities of the expert team

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

Biography

Guy Wolf is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Montreal and researcher at the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (Mila-Quebec Institute for Research in Artificial Intelligence).

His research focuses on the analysis of exploratory data with applications in bioinformatics. His approaches are multidisciplinary and combine machine learning, signal processing, harmonic analysis, and applied math tools. In particular, his recent works use a combination of diffusion geometries, manifold learning, and deep learning to find emergent patterns, dynamics, and structure in big high dimensional data (e.g., in single-cell genomics and proteomics). As part of the Mila "AI against COVID-19" task force, he is involved in cutting-edge projects relating to the analysis of genomic (and multi-omic) data to understanding the virus operations, interaction with host biology, and targeting potential antiviral treatments.

Research interests

Exploratory data analysis with manifold learning and deep learning;

Applied harmonic analysis, spectral graph theory, and diffusion geometry;

Graph signal processing and geometric deep learning;

Data-driven characterization of nonlinear structures, patterns, and dynamics;

Biomedical big data applications (e.g., genomics and neuroscience).

Current activities COVID-19

In the media

September 15, 2022 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

La pandémie, la « patate chaude » électorale

Benoît Mâsse

September 1, 2022 Santé, by Isabelle Paré

Les femmes occupent plus de lits d’hôpital que les hommes

Benoît Mâsse

March 13, 2022 TVA Nouvelles, by Julien Bouthillier

Les cas de COVID-19 augmentent dans plusieurs pays: doit-on s'inquiéter d'une 6e vague au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

March 7, 2022 La Presse +, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Et si tout le Québec était triplement vacciné ?

Benoît Mâsse

February 19, 2022 La Presse +, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Covid: À quoi ressemblera votre printemps?

Benoît Mâsse

February 18, 2022 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Que veut dire « vivre avec le virus »?

Benoît Mâsse

February 9, 2022 Montreal Gazette, by René Bruemmer

Public health experts say gradually dropping COVID-19 restrictions is the right call by Quebec

Benoît Mâsse

February 6, 2022 Le Journal de Montréal, by Laurent Lavoie

Malgré le vaccin, 1551 morts liées à la COVID-19 en janvier au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

January 31, 2022

Le déconfinement arrive-t-il au moment opportun?

Benoît Mâsse

January 21, 2022 La Presse, by Suzanne Colpron

Ailleurs, ça déconfine

Benoît Mâsse

January 20, 2022 La Presse +, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Capacité hospitalière: le Québec en queue de peloton du G7

Benoît Mâsse

January 17, 2022 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Toujours pas de troisième dose pour les ados

Benoît Mâsse

January 17, 2022 Le Soleil, by Louis-Denis Ebacher

Le nouveau médicament de Pfizer n’est pas une panacée

Benoît Mâsse

January 16, 2022 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Si Omicron est moins sévère avec les individus, il n’épargne pas les systèmes de santé

Benoît Mâsse

January 13, 2022 La Presse +, by Ariane Krol

Immunité collective: un espoir nommé Omicron

Benoît Mâsse

January 6, 2022 Montreal Gazette, by Katelyn Thomas

Quebec could have done more to avoid latest COVID-19 crisis, health experts say

Benoît Mâsse

December 15, 2021 La Presse +, by Ariane Lacoursière

Noël, à vos risques et périls

Benoît Mâsse

December 5, 2021 La Presse, by Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

Que nous réserve (encore) la COVID ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 22, 2021 L'actualité, by Valérie Borde

Quels sont les risques d’une cinquième vague ?

Benoît Mâsse

October 13, 2021 Ici Radio-Canada Première

La vaccination contre la COVID-19 des enfants de 5 à 11 ans

Benoît Mâsse

September 29, 2021 La Presse, by Louise Leduc

Déploiement à grande échelle dans les régions les plus touchées

Benoît Mâsse

September 17, 2021 La Presse, by Mathieu Perreault

Les vaccins changent de nom au pays

Benoît Mâsse

July 22, 2021 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Doit-on craindre le variant Delta au Canada?

Benoît Mâsse

July 11, 2021 Journal de Montréal, by Laurent Lavoie

Une troisième dose pourrait compliquer l’effort vaccinal

Benoît Mâsse

July 1, 2021 ICI Radio-Canada Première

Demande du Canadien de Montréal d'accueillir 10 500 partisans au Centre Bell

Benoît Mâsse

June 7, 2021 La Presse, by Suzanne Colpron

Pourquoi frottons-nous encore autant ?

Benoît Mâsse

May 22, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Peut-on atteindre l'immunité collective?

Benoît Mâsse

May 18, 2021 Le Devoir, by Marie-Eve Cousineau

De quoi l’été pandémique sera-t-il fait?

Benoît Mâsse

May 17, 2021 The Canadian Press, by Jacob Serebrin

Quebec reports fewest new COVID-19 cases since September as it prepares to reopen

Simon de Montigny

May 4, 2021 La Presse, par by Catherine Handfield

Que nous réservent les prochains mois ?

Benoît Mâsse

May 2, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

La quarantaine, même pour les snowbirds vaccinés

Benoît Mâsse

April 26, 2021 Ici Radio-Canada Première

Benoît Mâsse sur le taux de vaccination pour atteindre l'immunité collective

Benoît Mâsse

April 26, 2021 UdeMnouvelles

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes

Jacques Bélair, Morgan Craig, Simon de Montigny

March 21, 2021 Ici Radio-Canada Première

Jacques Bélair sur la modélisation épidémiologique et l'évolution de la pandémie

Jacques Bélair

March 16, 2021 Québec Science, by Marine Corniou

Suspension du vaccin d’AstraZeneca en Europe : excès de prudence?

Benoît Mâsse

February 27, 2021 La Presse, by Janie Gosselin

Un passeport vaccinal, s'il vous plaît ?

Benoît Mâsse

February 25, 2021 qub.radio, by Geneviève Pettersen

Le masque est nécessaire pour garder les écoles ouvertes, affirme un épidémiologiste

Benoît Mâsse

February 23, 2021 Montreal Gazette, by Jesse Feith

Nearly 850 Quebec schools reporting COVID-19 cases

Benoît Mâsse

February 22, 2021 La Presse, by Stéphanie Marin

Plus d’écoles fermées au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

February 21, 2021 Le Journal de Montréal, by Erika Aubin

La ligne dure pour freiner les variants dans les écoles

Benoît Mâsse

February 19, 2021 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel and Mylène Crête

Le Canada bientôt en mesure de rattraper son retard dans la vaccination

Benoît Mâsse

February 19, 2021 TVA Nouvelles

Nouvelle vague de variants : «ça commence à décoller»

Benoît Mâsse

February 17, 2021 98.5fm.ca

Pandémie et variants : les 8 prochaines semaines seront critiques

Benoît Mâsse

February 13, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Une seule dose suffirait après une infection

Benoît Mâsse

February 12, 2021 La Presse, by Alice Girard-Bossé

Une mesure qui arrive trop tard, selon des experts

Benoît Mâsse

February 11, 2021 Montreal Gazette, by Katelyn Thomas

Time is ticking on COVID-19 variant detection in Quebec

Benoît Mâsse

February 7, 2021 La Presse +, by Antoine Trussard and Léa Carrier

Les experts retiennent leur souffle

Benoît Mâsse

February 5, 2021 La Presse +, by Alice Girard-Bossé

La tendance à la baisse devrait se poursuivre... À une condition

Benoît Mâsse

February 4, 2021 CBS News, by Verity Stevenson and Benjamin Shingler

COVID-19 variants and vaccine delays loom large as Quebec loosens restrictions

Benoît Mâsse

February 3, 2021 https://www.lesoleil.com/actualite/covid-19/assouplissements-et-variants-prudence-disent-des-specialistes-2be730638a86b31003c92e47a6ba64b3?utm_source=UdeMNouvelles&utm_campaign=297b12eb72-RSS_RP_Publique&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5cf28dd13d-297b12eb72-332581258

Assouplissements et variants: prudence, disent des spécialistes

Benoît Mâsse

February 2, 2021 La Presse +, by Pierre-André Normandin and Alice Girard-Bossé

« Des résultats encourageants »

Benoît Mâsse

February 2, 2021 La Presse +, by Alice Girard-Bossé

Québec déploiera davantage de tests rapides

Benoît Mâsse

February 2, 2021 L'actualité, by Benoît Mâsse

COVID-19 : le parachute des preuves

Benoît Mâsse

January 29, 2021 La Presse, by Louise Leduc

Hausse des cas chez les jeunes, comme prévu

Benoît Mâsse

January 29, 2021 La Presse, by Alice Girard-Bossé

Les variants, une menace au contrôle de la pandémie

Benoît Mâsse

January 28, 2021 La Presse, by Marc Thibodeau

Le Québec pressé d’accélérer le rythme

Benoît Mâsse

January 23, 2021 La Presse +, by Mathieu Perreault

Un variant plus mortel, un autre plus résistant

Benoît Mâsse

January 19, 2021 Montreal Gazette, by René Bruemmer

Too early to say if Quebec's drop in COVID-19 cases will continue, experts say

Benoît Mâsse

January 19, 2021 Québec Science, by Marine Corniou

Les vaccins contre la COVID-19 présentent-ils un risque pour les personnes très âgées?

Benoît Mâsse

January 16, 2021 98.5fm.ca

Moins de doses de vaccin livrées par Pfizer au Canada

Benoît Mâsse

January 15, 2021 La Presse, by Chantal Guy

Quand la science prend le micro

Benoît Mâsse

January 14, 2021 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Plus de 100 000 doses des vaccins contre la COVID-19 administrées

Benoît Mâsse

January 13, 2021 Global News, by Saba Aziz

Coronavirus vaccine a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for LTC homes

Benoît Mâsse

January 10, 2021 La Presse +, by Antoine Trussard

Le cap des 3000 cas franchi pour la première fois

Benoît Mâsse

January 9, 2021 La Presse +, by Émilie Bilodeau, Katia Gagnon and Ariane Lacoursière

Campagne de vaccination au québec, faux départ

Benoît Mâsse

January 8, 2021 Head Topics

Effectiveness of Quebec COVID-19 curfew unclear

Benoît Mâsse

January 8, 2021 La Presse, by Louise Leduc

Sécuritaire, la rentrée scolaire ?

Benoît Mâsse

January 8, 2021 Droit-Inc, Radio-Canada

Québec sommé d'offrir une 2e dose de vaccin

Benoît Mâsse

January 7, 2021 La Presse +, by Antoine Trussard

Plus confinés que jamais

Benoît Mâsse

January 7, 2021 Windsor Star, by Morgan Lowrie

Outbreak grows in vaccinated Quebec care home, expert says it was to be expected

Benoît Mâsse

January 6, 2021 National Post, by Morgan Lowrie

Quebec long-term care residents threaten legal action to get second vaccine dose

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 La Presse, by Éric-Pierre Champagne

La campagne de vaccination devrait s’accélérer au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 Le Journal de Montréal, by Annabelle Blais

Le Canada très loin derrière Israël

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 La Presse, by Gabriel Béland and Pierre-André Normandin

Les « partys » de noël montrés du doigt

Benoît Mâsse

January 5, 2021 Ici Première, Midi info, with Michel C. Auger

La rapidité de la vaccination

Benoît Mâsse

January 4, 2021 Le Devoir, by Annabelle Caillou

Un confinement plus long et plus strict déjà réclamé

Benoît Mâsse

January 3, 2021 Radio-Canada, by Fanny Samson

Le confinement sera-t-il prolongé après le 11 janvier au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

January 2, 2021 HuffPost, by Mathieu Paquette

COVID-19: les bilans des prochains jours seront déterminants, selon des experts

Benoît Mâsse

December 30, 2020 TVA Nouvelles, by Dominique Lelièvre

CHSLD Saint-Antoine: l’éclosion de COVID-19 dégénère malgré les premières injections

Benoît Mâsse

December 30, 2020 La Presse, by Mayssa Ferah and Henri Ouellette-Vézina

Utiliser toutes les doses reçues sans attendre ?

Benoît Mâsse

December 29, 2020 Le Devoir, by Boris Proulx and Mylène Crête

Lent décollage pour la vaccination au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

December 29, 2020 Le Devoir, by Annabelle Caillou

Le coronavirus muté pourrait être déjà installé au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

December 16, 2020 CBS, by Jonathan Montpetit

Quebec's new lockdown a harsh reminder the COVID-19 end game is still several moves away

Benoît Mâsse

December 16, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Naël Shiab

Voici pourquoi Noël a été annulé

Benoît Mâsse

December 10, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Alexandre Coupal

COVID-19 : faut-il annuler le mondial de hockey junior à Edmonton?

Benoît Mâsse

December 10, 2020 La Presse, by Mélanie Marquis

COVID-19 Vaccination que le marathon commence

Benoît Mâsse

December 9, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Un vaccin en attente du feu vert de Santé Canada

Benoît Mâsse

December 9, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Reconfiner, une fausse bonne idée, disent des experts

Benoît Mâsse

December 8, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Les nouveaux vaccins à ARNm en 4 questions

Benoît Mâsse

December 7, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Tout un matin

Explosion des cas de COVID-19 au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

à 6 h 52

December 7, 2020 Radio-Canada, by François Messier

Plaidoyer pour remettre le Québec « sur pause » pendant les Fêtes

Benoît Mâsse

December 5, 2020 La Presse, by Tommy Chouinard and Pierre-André Normandin

La surmortalité allume un « feu jaune » à Québec

Benoît Mâsse

December 4, 2020 La Presse, by Ariane Lacoursière

Interdiction des rassemblements à Noël : le réseau de la santé soulagé

Benoît Mâsse

December 3, 2020 La Presse, by Alexandre Gascon

Le vaccin ne sort pas encore la LNH du pétrin

Benoît Mâsse

December 2, 2020 L'actualité, by Valérie Borde

Les scientifiques qui nous aident à comprendre : Montrer la voie

Benoît Mâsse

December 2, 2020 L'actualité, by Benoît Mâsse

Vaccin : à qui les premières doses ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 17, 2020 Journal Métro

Coronavirus: éviter le dépistage massif à l’approche des Fêtes

Benoît Mâsse

November 16, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Le vaccin contre la COVID-19 sera-t-il bien accepté par la population?

Benoît Mâsse

November 16, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

COVID-19 : teste-t-on dans le vide?

Benoît Mâsse

November 16, 2020 Radio-Canada RDI

Un vaccin, efficace à 94,5% ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 15, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Gaëlle Lussiaà-Berdou

COVID-19 : un vaccin efficace, c’est quoi?

Benoît Mâsse

November 13, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Le 15-18

État de la situation sur la Covid-19: entrevue avec Benoît Masse

Benoît Mâsse

November 12, 2020 Ici Radio-Canada Nouveau-Brunswick

L’Atlantique fait toujours figure d’exception dans la lutte contre la COVID-19

Benoît Mâsse

November 11, 2020 La Presse, by Tommy Chouinard and Henri Ouellette-Vézina

De « petits partys » pour le temps des fêtes ?

Benoît Mâsse

November 10, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Toutes les réponses à vos questions sur le vaccin de Pfizer

Benoît Mâsse

November 9, 2020 Québec Science, by Marine Corniou

Vaccin contre la COVID-19 : Pfizer et BioNTech annoncent des résultats prometteurs

Benoît Mâsse

November 8, 2020 La Presse, by Mayssa Ferah et Éric-Pierre Champagne

Bon de plus de 1200 cas au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

La situation, en proportion, est pire au Manitoba et en Alberta

November 7, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Des trousses d’autodépistage pour faire avancer l’éradication du sida au pays

Benoît Mâsse

November 1, 2020 Le Journal de Montréal

COVID-19: réduire les cas pour sauver le système de santé… et Noël

Benoît Mâsse

October 31, 2020 La Presse, by Véronique Lauzon and Pierre-André Normandin

Le Québec maîtrise mieux sa deuxième vague

Benoît Mâsse

October 30, 2020 Le Devoir, by Marie-Eve Cousineau

La bataille sanitaire contre la COVID-19 se livre avec trop peu de soldats

Benoît Mâsse

October 28, 2020 La Presse, by Tristan Péloquin and Pierre-André Normandin

Les déplacements ont chuté bien avant les consignes

Benoît Mâsse, Simona Bignami

October 28, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Facteur Rt: c’est bien, mais ce n’est pas suffisant

Benoît Mâsse

October 28, 2020 Journal Métro

Cas de COVID-19: le Québec n’est plus le cancre du Canada

Simon de Montigny

October 27, 2020 La Presse, by Véronique Lauzon, Pierre-André Normandin, Marie-Eve Morasse

28 jours, prise 2

Benoît Mâsse, Roxane Borgès Da Silva

Le premier ministre a ainsi annoncé la reconduction des mesures restrictives en zone rouge pour 28 jours supplémentaire

October 26, 2020 Ici RDI

Mesures prolongées en zone rouge

Benoît Mâsse

October 26, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Infecter des gens volontairement pour le développement d'un vaccin, est-ce éthique?

Benoît Mâsse, Bryn Williams-Jones

October 24, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Comment les scientifiques déterminent-ils l’efficacité d’un vaccin?

Benoît Mâsse, Bryn Williams-Jones

October 23, 2020 Radio-Canada, Ici Première

Une deuxième vague en mode rattrapage?

Benoît Mâsse

October 16, 2020 La Presse, by Catherine Handfield

Que peut-on espérer pour Noël?

Benoît Mâsse

October 13, 2020 L'actualité, par Benoît Mâsse

Même avec un vaccin, la fin de la pandémie est encore loin

Benoît Mâsse

October 9, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

COVID-19 : « Nous ne pouvons pas seulement réagir au nombre de nouveaux cas »

Benoît Mâsse

October 8, 2020 Le Devoir, by Michel Vastel

Québec boude l’aide d’Ottawa pour retrouver les contacts

Benoît Mâsse

October 8, 2020 Yahoo! news, by Allison Lampert

Quebec's new social gathering curbs risk dragging on as COVID-19 cases rise

Benoît Mâsse

October 7, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Vingt-huit jours, et ce n’est qu’un début

Benoît Mâsse

October 7, 2020 Le Devoir, by Jeanne Corriveau and Isabelle Paré

Fêter l’Halloween autrement?

Benoît Mâsse

October 5, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, L'heure du monde

L'application Alerte COVID au Québec: entrevue avec Benoit Mâsse

Benoît Mâsse

October 3, 2020 La Presse, by Caroline Touzin, Ariane Lacoursière, Émilie Bilodeau et Gabrielle Duchesne

Retard dans les embauches et analyses «à la mitaine»

Benoît Mâsse

En pleine deuxième vague de COVID-19, le manque de personnel et les lacunes du système informatique ralentissent les enquêtes épidémiologiques, cruciales dans la lutte contre le virus.

September 30, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Tout un matin

Lancement d'une application de traçage au Québec : « on a écoulé presque toutes les options »

Benoît Mâsse

September 28, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici télé, Le Téléjournal

Comment freiner la deuxième vague?

Benoît Mâsse

September 26, 2020 Le Devoir, by Jessica Nadeau et Marie-Eve Cousineau

Des employés de CHSLD en attente de dépistage sont tenus de travailler

Benoît Mâsse

September 26, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Ahmed Kouaou

Le malheur de Montréal fera-t-il le bonheur des régions?

Benoît Mâsse

September 24, 2020 Radio-Canada, par Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Pourquoi voit-on les infections augmenter, mais pas les décès ni les hospitalisations?

David Buckeridge

September 24, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Midi-Info

Traçage de la COVID et analyse du discours du Trône

Benoît Mâsse

September 23, 2020 The Canadian Press, republished by CTV News

Second wave of COVID-19 in Quebec: Number of free hospital beds appears sufficient for now

David Buckeridge, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

September 23, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Les hôpitaux du Québec ne seront pas surchargés à court terme

David Buckeridge

September 23, 2020 Montreal Gazette, by Matthew Lapierre

Quebec researchers project rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

September 22, 2020 Radio-Canada Ici Première, Le 15-18

Covid-19 et applications de traçage

Benoît Mâsse

September 19, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Danielle Beaudoin

COVID-19 : il faut encore plus de dépistage pour espérer briser une deuxième vague

Benoît Mâsse

September 19, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Un membre du Groupe de travail sur les vaccins contre la COVID-19 démissionne

Benoît Mâsse

September 16, 2020 Montreal Gazette, by Matthew Lapierre & Philip Authier

Legault concedes Quebec's pandemic projection data is out of date

Simon de Montigny

Also published in the Ottawa Citizen

September 11, 2020 Radio-Canada Ottawa, based on informations provided by Frédéric Pépin and Claudine Richard

La COVID-19, six mois après le premier cas à Ottawa

Benoît Mâsse

September 10, 2020 TVA Nouvelles, Le Journal de Montréal

Une soirée arrosée dans un bar comme si la COVID n’existait pas

Benoît Mâsse

September 4, 2020 L'actualité, by Camille Lopez

Covidences : vraies confidences, fausses conclusions

Benoît Mâsse, Sylvana Côté

September 4, 2020 CBC, by John MacFarlane

How to interpret Rt, a number to measure the pandemic in Quebec

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

September 3, 2020 Radio-Canada, interviewed by Michel C. Auger

Le point sur les éclosions au Québec

Benoît Mâsse

September 3, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Les «bulles-classes», un modèle imparfait, qui permet de garder les écoles ouvertes

Benoît Mâsse

September 2, 2020 La Presse, by Marie-Eve Morasse and Louise Leduc

Hors de la classe, les bulles éclatent

Benoît Mâsse

August 25, 2020 CBC, by Colin Harris

Quebec won't use COVID-19 notification app for now

David Buckeridge

August 18, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Hachey

Une rentrée, deux solitudes

Benoît Mâsse

August 12, 2020 Le Jeune Indépendant, by Mohamed Mecelti

Vaccin russe: un grand pas contre la Covid-19

Benoît Mâsse

July 31, 2020 Radio-Canada, from a text by John MacFarlane, Jonathan Montpetit and Roberto Rocha de CBC

La deuxième vague de COVID-19 s'en vient, voici ce qu'anticipent des experts

Benoît Mâsse

July 30, 2020 CBC Montreal, by John MacFarlane, Jonathan Montpetit, Roberto Rocha

The 2nd wave is coming. Here's what public health experts say we should expect

Benoît Mâsse

July 18, 2020 Le Journal de Montréal, by Hugo Duchaine

Une deuxième vague pourrait être encore pire

Benoît Mâsse

July 17, 2020 Le Soleil, Le Droit, Le Quotidien, by Maxime Bilodeau, Agence Science-Presse

Non, les modèles épidémiologiques ne servent pas à prédire le futur

Benoît Mâsse

July 16, 2020 La Presse, par Suzanne Colpron

« S’il n’était pas allé à l’hôpital, il serait encore vivant »

Benoît Mâsse

July 14, 2020 CBC Montreal, by Jonathan Montpetit

With uptick in COVID-19 cases, Quebec could be forced to choose between schools and bars

Benoît Mâsse

July 14, 2020 Pieuve.ca, by Agence Science-Presse

Impossible de prédire le futur avec les modèles épidémiologiques

Benoît Mâsse

July 11, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Déconfinement : quelles sont les activités les plus risquées?

Benoît Mâsse

July 10, 2020 Ici Radio-Canada Première

Le confinement était-il une bonne idée?

Benoît Mâsse

July 9, 2020 Journal Métro, by François Carabin

COVID-19 : les personnes infectées ont deux fois plus de contacts qu’en mai

Simon de Montigny

July 7, 2020 La Presse, par Philippe Mercure

Vers un registre des clients des bars et des restaurants?

Benoît Mâsse

July 5, 2020 Montreal Gazette, by René Bruemmer

A trail of death, sorrow and what-ifs: How COVID spread in Montreal

Benoît Mâsse

July 1, 2020 La Presse, by Tristan Péloquin

Huit ou neuf contacts par jour feraient exploser les cas

Benoît Mâsse

June 30, 2020 TVA Nouvelles, Le Journal de Montréal, by Maude Ouellet

Mesures sanitaires : pas simple de s’y retrouver

Benoît Mâsse

June 29, 2020 La Presse, by Ariane Lacoursière et Philippe Mercure

Arruda inquiet du « relâchement » des Québécois

Benoît Mâsse

June 29, 2020 Le Devoir, by Brian Miles

Fragile transparence

Benoît Mâsse

June 27, 2020 Le Devoir, by Isabelle Paré

Distanciation à géométrie variable

Benoît Mâsse

June 18, 2020 L'actualité, par Camille Payant (avec Camille Lopez)

Une appli de traçage, c’est quoi ?

Benoît Mâsse

June 17, 2020 La Presse, par Janie Gosselin

COVID-19: Pékin resserre ses mesures

Simon de Montigny

June 16, 2020 Radio-Canada, par Romain Schué

Il n'y aura plus de cliniques de dépistage dans des autobus à Montréal

Benoît Mâsse

June 15, 2020 Radio-Canada, par Ximena Sampson

Quand et comment pourra-t-on rouvrir la frontière avec les États-Unis ?

Benoît Mâsse

June 11, 2020 Safety Radio, par voiceofthehwys

Computer algorithms find tumors' molecular weak spots

Morgan Craig

also reproduced by: https://www.f3nws.com/news/computer-algorithms-find-tumors-molecular-weak-spots-science-magazine-67a2b7907a3?utm_source=UdeMNouvelles&utm_campaign=d67a708224-RSS_RP_Publique&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5cf28dd13d-d67a708224-332162293

June 6, 2020 Mirage News

La recherche de contacts pour sauver des vies

Benoît Mâsse

June 2, 2020 La Presse

Trop sévères, les nouvelles règles sanitaires?

Benoît Mâsse

June 2, 2020 Le Devoir

Ces enquêteurs sur la trace du coronavirus

Benoît Mâsse

May 31, 2020 LaPresse

La bataille de Montréal : l'armée en déroute

Benoît Mâsse

May 30, 2020 Le Soleil

Après le « R0 », voici le «k»

Benoît Mâsse

May 30, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski

Données sur la COVID-19 : peut-on vraiment se comparer aux autres?

Simon de Montigny

May 28, 2020 La Presse, by Marc Thibodeau

Un cas dès décembre au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

May 28, 2020 Québec Science

COVID-19 : l'heure de gloire de la modélisation

Jacques Bélair

May 23, 2020 Le Devoir, by Pauline Gravel

Faut-il craindre une deuxième vague  au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse

May 23, 2020 The Washington Post, by Amanda Colette

Quebec, Canada’s hardest-hit province, is also the most aggressive about reopening

Benoît Mâsse

May 14, 2020 Radio-Canada, Tout un matin, avec Patrick Masbourian

COVID-19, a-t-on atteint un plateau de décès?

Benoît Mâsse

May 14, 2020 Radio-Canada Télé, par Frédéric Arnould

Le traçage, une mesure cruciale pour limiter la propagation du coronavirus

Benoît Mâsse

May 14, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le nombre de décès diminue... vraiment?

Benoît Mâsse

May 12, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Des règles claires réclamées pour le déconfinement

Benoît Mâsse

May 9, 2020 La Presse, par Émile Bilodeau, Katia Gagnon, Ariane Krol, Ariane Lacoursière et Marc Thibodeau

Le Québec est-il prêt?

Benoît Mâsse

April 30, 2020 La Presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le Québec n’est pas encore prêt pour le déconfinement

Benoît Mâsse

April 26, 2020 Radio-Canada, by Guillaume Piedboeuf

Le casse-tête du déconfinement

Jacques Bélair

April 16, 2020 Medical Xpress, by Jeff Heinrich

Computer modelling to fight COVID-19

Morgan Craig

April 15, 2020 Centre de Recherche du CHU Sainte-Justine

La modélisation informatique pour lutter contre la COVID-19

Morgan Craig

April 8, 2020 La presse, by Paul Journet

En attendant une meilleure solution…

Marie-Claude Boily

April 7, 2020 La presse, by Philippe Mercure

Le pic déjà atteint au Québec?

Benoît Mâsse, Marie-Claude Boily

March 16, 2020 Le Soleil, updated on March 22, 2020

COVID-19 : pourquoi les mesures d’éloignement social sont présentement nécessaires?

Collectifs d'auteurs

Institut national d'excellence en santé et services sociaux (INESS)

Projections du nombre d’hospitalisations pour les personnes atteintes de la COVID-19

David Buckeridge, Mathieu Maheu-Giroux

Publications

June 18, 2021

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Mathematics for Public Health

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), is a program to develop a national network of infectious disease modellers and public health policy makers that can rapidly respond to public health emergencies.

 

The MfPH initiative is a pan-Canadian, Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling (EIDM) multi-disciplinary network co-led by Fields Director, V. Kumar Murty, and York University mathematics professor, Jianhong Wu. The goal of the network is to develop advanced mathematical techniques for the study of potential health crises and to train a cohort of mathematical modelling experts to help achieve public health objectives. This initiative is a partnership between The Fields Institute, the Atlantic Association for Research in Mathematical Sciences (AARMS), the Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), and the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).

 

The network will use state-of-the-art mathematical modelling techniques to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada’s resilience in emergency situations. Multiple post-doctoral fellows will be recruited to one of the 11 inaugural MfPH projects. Successful candidates will be recruited to a particular project and  jointly supervised by members of the project team.

 

The candidate should have a Ph.D. in applied mathematics/mathematical physics/mathematical biology or a related field at the time of appointment. The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to carry out creative, innovative, independent research, have peer-reviewed publications in leading journals in the field and have mastery of mathematical modeling.

 

Please submit your application, including a cover letter indicating the project that you would like to join through https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/fellowship/17713

 

Candidates applying to multiple projects must submit an application for each project separately. Applications should be submitted immediately and will be assessed on a rolling basis. Start dates are negotiable, and may start as early as 1 July 2021.

May 7, 2021 at 4:40 p.m.

What the Numbers Say: Adjusting to a 'New Normal'

Andrew Morris, Sara Otto, Jianhong Wu

Mathematical Modelling of COVID-19

Vaccine passports? New variants? Booster shots? Seasonal masking requirements?

With all the focus on combatting Canada’s third wave, many are wondering how we will control this pandemic in the weeks ahead, all while facing the prospect of living with SARS-Cov-19 long-term. How can modelling help us better understand what to expect from our “new normal” in the months and years to come?

In this edition of “What the Numbers Say”, we will focus on the evolution of the virus, troubling new variants, vaccines, travel and what the future may hold. CBC Journalist Manjula Selvarajah will moderate a fascinating discussion that explores the potential realities of sharing a planet with the SARS-Cov-19.

This is your opportunity to hear directly from the experts on the front lines of modelling and battling the virus. 

Register today for your spot at the event. Please send your questions to the panel by Friday, May 7 at 10 am to taskforce@fields.utoronto.ca

April 27, 2021

CRM researchers leading national infectious disease modelling efforts

Jacques Bélair, Luc Vinet, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Erica E.M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt, David A. Stephens

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, announced an investment of $ 10 million in funding, including $ 2.5 million for the One Health Modeling Network for Emerging Infections (OMNI), funding of $ 3 million for Mathematics for Public Health (MfPH), a coalition of major Canadian mathematical institutes Fields, PIMS, AARMS and the CRM and $750 000 for Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The projects are among several multidisciplinary infectious disease modeling networks funded under the Emerging Infectious Diseases Modeling Initiative, established through a partnership between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The MfPH aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives. The MfPH group is made up of 48 co-researchers, 21 Canadian institutions and more than 20 national and international collaborators in fields such as epidemiology, mathematical modeling, infectious disease and public health. It will mobilize a national network that uses state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical modelling to advise on public health policy with the long-term goal of boosting future epidemic preparedness and improving Canada's resilience in emergency situations.

MfPH will be co-led by Fields Director Kumar Murty and York University Mathematics Professor Jianhong Wu, and will count amongst its membership numerous leaders in their respective fields, including Bouchra Nasri from the École de santé publique de l'UdeM (ESPUM), Patrick A. Leighton from the Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Jacques Bélair, Arthur Charpentier, Hélène Guérin, Manuel Morales and Luc Vinet from the CRM.

The OMNI Network will use multidisciplinary knowledge about the connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

As principal investigator of the OMNI project, Zhu, professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in York's Faculty of Science, will bring together 72 project co-applicants from 23 Canadian universities and 49 collaborators from 28 national and international organizations.

Models developed from this new network are expected to lead to the identification of critical data and modeling gaps. By identifying gaps, the network will be able to target surveillance and data and use the data in disease modeling.

Hélène Carabin, professor in the Département de pathologie et microbiologie de la Faculté de médecine vétérinaire de l’UdeM, is co-director of this network. Other members of this network include Bouchra Nasri, Jacques Bélair, Simon de Montigny, Morgan Craig, Patrick A. Leighton, Thomas Poder and Timothée Poisot from UdeM.

Statistical Methods for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, led by Dr. Patrick Brown at the University of Toronto, will develop methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. They are seeking to augment Canada's capacity to respond to emerging infectious diseases.

This project assembles the top biostatisticians in Canada working on infectious diseases, and joins them with epidemiologists developing novel methods for data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group is developing methods and tools to get an accurate picture of the nature and extent of infectious disease transmission in the population, relying on real-world data from administrative sources and surveys. Three members of the CRM StatLab are involved in this network: Erica E. M. Moodie, Alexandra M. Schmidt and David A. Stephens.

Government of Canada announcement

Emerging Infectious Diseases Modelling Initiative

Des chercheurs de l’UdeM au cœur de la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses émergentes, UdeMnouvelles, April 26, 2021

May 8, 2020

Modelling of vaccination and treatment campaigns

Marie-Claude Boily, Simon de Montigny, Benoît Mâsse

April 9, 2020 Bulletin of the World Health Organization

Observation Wards and Control of the Transmission of COVID-19 in Wuhan

Jacques Bélair, Juan Li, Pei Yuan, Jane Heffernan, Tingting Zheng, Nick Ogden, Beate Sander, Jun Li, Qi Li, Jude Dzevela Kong, Elena Aruffo, Yi Tan, Zhen Jin, Yong Yu, Meng Fan, Jingan Cui, Zhidong Teng, Huaiping Zhu

January 1, 2016 Mathematical Biosciences, Science Direct

Modeling the spread and control of dengue with limited public health resources

Jacques Bélair, Ahmed Abdelrazec, Chunhua Shan, Huaiping Zhu

December 14, 2014 Université de Montréal, Papyrus

Modélisation mathématique de la propagation de la malaria

Jacques Bélair, Fidèle Niyukuri

October 21, 2010 Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health

The ABC of terms used in mathematical models of infectious diseases

Marie-Claude Boily, Sharmistha Mishra, David N Fisman

Videos

August 27, 2020

Pandemics in films: unraveling mathematical modeling

Jacques Bélair

Part of the lecture series “Mathematics and COVID-19”, Jacques Bélair's closing lecture on pandemics in films.

June 19, 2020

Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Morgan Craig

LAUNCH of the Expert Team's Activities and conference: Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Online videoconference, recorded on June 19, 2020

This conference took place as part of the Colloque des sciences mathématiques CRM-ISM

A word of introduction is pronounced by Jacques Bélair, Project Manager of the CRM Expert Team on Epidemiology and Public Health.

Organizers : 

Henri Darmon (McGill University)
Jean-François Coeurjolly (UQAM)

May 20, 2020

COVID-19 pandemic control through extended SIR model | Paris Machine Learning

Arthur Charpentier

Paper Abstract : We consider here an extended SIR model, including several features of therecent COVID-19 outbreak: in particular the infected and recovered individualscan either be detected (+) or undetected (-) and we also integrate an intensive careunit capacity. Our model enables a tractable quantitative analysis of the optimalpolicy for the control of the epidemic dynamics using both lockdown and detectionintervention levers. With parametric specification based on literature on COVID-19, we investigate sensitivity of various quantities on optimal strategies, takinginto account the subtle tradeoff between the sanitary and the economic cost ofthe pandemic, together with the limited capacity level of ICU. We identify theoptimal lockdown policy as an intervention structured in 4 successive phases: Firsta quick and strong lockdown intervention to stop the exponential growth of thecontagion; second a short transition phase to reduce the prevalence of the virus;third a long period with full ICU capacity and stable virus prevalence; finallya return to normal social interactions with disappearance of the virus. We alsoprovide optimal intervention measures with increasing ICU capacity, as well asoptimization over the effort on detection of infectious and immune individuals.

Conferences and scientific activities

May 7, 2021 from 16:30 to 17:30 (Montreal/EST time) Zoom meeting

What the Numbers Say: Adjusting to a 'New Normal'

Conference presented by Andrew Morris, Sara Otto, Jianhong Wu

Vaccine passports? New variants? Booster shots? Seasonal masking requirements?

With all the focus on combatting Canada’s third wave, many are wondering how we will control this pandemic in the weeks ahead, all while facing the prospect of living with SARS-Cov-19 long-term. How can modelling help us better understand what to expect from our “new normal” in the months and years to come?

In this edition of “What the Numbers Say”, we will focus on the evolution of the virus, troubling new variants, vaccines, travel and what the future may hold. CBC Journalist Manjula Selvarajah will moderate a fascinating discussion that explores the potential realities of sharing a planet with the SARS-Cov-19.

This is your opportunity to hear directly from the experts on the front lines of modelling and battling the virus. 

Register today for your spot at the event. Please send your questions to the panel by Friday, May 7 at 10 am to taskforce@fields.utoronto.ca

To register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/what-the-numbers-say-adjusting-to-a-new-normal-tickets-152926572495?utm_campaign=post_publish&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eventbrite&utm_content=shortLinkNewEmail

February 25, 2021 from 11:45 to 17:30 (Montreal/EST time) Zoom meeting

2021 CDM INCUBATION DAY

Conference presented by Jacques Bélair (Université de Montréal)

December 9, 2020 from 17:00 to 18:00 (Montreal/EST time) Zoom meeting

Café mathématique: Modeling COVID-19: Resurgence, Vaccination and Disease Severity

Conference presented by Thomas Hillen (University of Alberta), Matthew Betti (Mount Allison University), Victoria Ng (Public Health Agency of Canada)

COVID-19 continues to burden the Canadian population. Mathematical modelling studies of COVID-19 infection and disease have been used to inform policy-makers every day of this pandemic. Come learn about these models from some of our Canadian experts!

November 12, 2020 Zoom meeting

Epidemic modelling at different stages of infectious disease outbreaks

Conference presented by Robin Thompson (Oxford University, UK)

As part of the Infectious Disease Outbreaks

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

  • Quentin Griette (Université de Bordeaux)
  • Jane Heffernan (York University)
  • Yvon Maday (Sorbonne Université)
  • Pierre Magal (Université de Bordeaux)
  • Jianhong Wu (York University)

October 29, 2020 Zoom meeting

A novel predictive framework for the novel coronavirus

Conference presented by Niayesh Afshordi (University of Waterloo, Perimeter Institue for Theoretical Physics)

Abstract: It would be hard to exaggerate the impact that COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, caused by the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has had on human civilization. Cascading effects from the impact of the pandemic on national healthcare systems, as well as the shutdown of a large fraction of global socioeconomic activity can further impact the health and livelihood of the world population and lead to secondary fatalities, as well as shortening and/or deterioration of lives. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to understand the true dynamics and efficiency of mitigation strategies, so that a proper, transparent, and balanced response can be designed and adopted by local governments across the world. We offer a new data-driven way of attacking this problem via a dynamical causal model informed by our unusual array of backgrounds in cosmology, quantum mechanics, and mathematical modeling. We have developed a physical model for the growth of the disease based on the collision of infected and susceptible populations in a community, with a cross-section+stochastic incubation of the virus. We then calibrate the cross-section and incubation, in terms of population demographics of the county, its Google social mobility, search trends, and weather, by comparing the model to the actual growth rates of COVID in all US counties. This leads to a powerful model (with fewer than a dozen parameters) that can be used to predict the growth/decay of pandemic across the United States, through our online dashboard: https://wolfr.am/COVID19Dash . We hope this framework can be scaled up to more regions/data, and be used to inform smart region-specific policies to suppress and/or mitigate the pandemic and its adverse effects.

http://cdm.yorku.ca/content/novel-predictive-framework-novel-coronavirus

October 27, 2020 Zoom meeting

COVID, V-KEMs and Modeling Retail and Higher Education

Conference presented by Chris Budd (University of Bath)

Part of the lecture series «2020-2021 COVID-19 Math Modelling Seminar», for information: http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/activities/20-21/covid-19-math-modelling-seminar

Recording available HERE

Following lock down in the UK a group of mathematicians, together with the Isaac Newton Centre and the International Centre for the Mathematical Sciences founded the virtual forum for knowledge exchange in the mathematical sciences (V-KEMS). The purpose of V-KEMS is to provide a mechanism for teams of mathematicians to work together to tackle problems directly related to COVID-19 and also the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the infrastructure of the UK. One of the mechanisms for doing this are Virtual Study Groups (VSGs). The problems tackled have ranged from reopening the work place and schools, to decontaminating surfaces, supplying food and safely operating trains. The results from these mathematical studies have been used to inform SAGE which is the main scientific advisory group to the UK government. In this talk I will describe the operation of V-KEMS in general. I will then describe its work on the problems of the impact of COVID-19 on the retail industry and on Higher Education.

http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/talks/COVID-V-KEMs-and-Modeling-Retail-and-Higher-Education

September 29, 2020 Zoom meeting

Learning optimal mitigation strategies through agent based reinforcement learning

Conference presented by Nicholas Denis

Register here

Speaker: Nicholas Denis, Statistics Canada

August 27, 2020 Zoom meeting

Pandemics in films: unraveling mathematical modeling

Conference presented by Jacques Bélair (Université de Montréal)

Since the origin of cinema, infection disease outbreak films have been numerous and displayed a wide range of pathologies, including, in addition to real or "any-resemblance-to-actual-is-pure-coincidence" viruses, vampires, zombies and aliens. A non-comprehensive overview of recent and historical instances will be presented, and a mathematical representation of the last-minute-heroic-world-saving intervention will be discussed.

Recording available HERE

Complete information of this Lecture series

 

August 12, 2020 Zoom meeting

Café mathématique: What is a model of COVID-19?

Conference presented by David Buckeridge (McGill University), Ashleigh Tuite, Caroline Colijn, Javier Sanchez, Jacques Bélair (Université de Montréal)

The Fields Institute in association with the Centre for Disease Modelling, AARMS, PIMS and the CRM

presents

Café mathématique, a free public forum where anyone can learn how math underpins our understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear from a panel of experts at universities across Canada as they answer the question, “What is a model of COVID-19?” followed by a lively discussion where audience members are encouraged to ask questions and explore ideas about modelling the pandemic.

Students of all ages, and everyone who likes math, are encouraged to attend. Click here to register: 

Register

Organizing Committee:

Julien Arino - University of Manitoba

Jacques Bélair - Université de Montréal

Jude Dzevela Kong - York University

Jane Heffernan - York University

Kumar Murty - The Fields Institute

James Watmough - University of New Brunswick

Jianhong Wu - Mathematics for Public Health and York University

Huaiping Zhu - York University

 

 

June 19, 2020 Zoom meeting

LAUNCH of the Expert Team's Activities and conference: Quantitative approaches to understanding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Conference presented by Morgan Craig (Université de Montréal)

Online videoconference on June 19 at 4 p.m.

Recording available HERE on the CRM's YouTube channel

Abstract: COVID-19 is typically characterized by a range of respiratory symptoms that, in severe cases, progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). These symptoms are also frequently accompanied by a range of inflammatory indications, particularly hyper-reactive and dysregulated inflammatory responses in the form of cytokine storms and severe immunopathology. Much remains to be uncovered about the mechanisms that lead to disparate outcomes in COVID-19. Here, quantitative approaches, especially mechanistic mathematical models, can be leveraged to improve our understanding of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Building upon our prior work modelling the production of innate immune cell subsets and the viral dynamics of HIV and oncolytic viruses, we are developing a quantitative framework to interrogate open questions about the innate and adaptive immune reaction in COVID-19. In this talk, I will outline our recent work modelling SARS-CoV-2 viral dynamics and the ensuing immune response at both the tissue and systemic levels. A portion of this work is done as part of an international and multidisciplinary coalition working to establish a comprehensive tissue simulator (physicell.org/covid19), which I will also discuss in more detail. 

This conference takes place as part of the Colloque des sciences mathématiques CRM-ISM

Organizers : 

Henri Darmon (McGill University)
Jean-François Coeurjolly (UQAM)