The SUPPORT-Canada initiative will capture data and biospecimens in order to identify factors contributing to COVID-19 susceptibility, severity and outcomes in Canada. June 25, 2020 – Toronto, Ontario CanPath (the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health) has been awarded a $2.1 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through their COVID-19 Rapid Research Funding competition. The initiative, titled SUrveying Prospective Population cOhorts for COVID-19 pRevalence and ouTcomes in Canada (SUPPORT-Canada), aims to capture data and biospecimens to enable population-level surveillance. SUPPORT-Canada will enable researchers and clinicians to find factors contributing to COVID-19 susceptibility, severity and outcomes, thus identifying factors predisposing individuals or communities across Canada to a high risk of infection. “The integration of clinical programs with our broader existing population cohort infrastructure creates the opportunity to rapidly assess patterns across Canada, while discovering and tracking critical biological and environmental determinants of disease susceptibility and severity for COVID-19,” says Dr. Philip Awadalla, lead Principal Investigator for the SUPPORT-Canada Initiative and National Scientific Director of CanPath. SUPPORT-Canada will be built out from CanPath, Canada’s largest population cohort, in partnership with the Toronto-based University Health Network (UHN), along with support from numerous research platforms, industry collaborators and service providers. This collaborative effort has been designed to integrate with national and global research efforts, including the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative, to support clinical, immunological and genetic studies of COVID-19. SUPPORT-Canada aims to: Capture population and clinical-level COVID-19 data and outcomes to support personalized risk profiling, and inform adaptive social and public health responses; Create capacity for world-leading research in immunophenotyping, seroprevalence and host-viral genetics; and Explore the role that genetics, co-morbidities and the environment play in shaping the pathophysiology of COVID-19 severity, susceptibility and immunological response. “Accurate estimates of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies across Canada, which act as markers of infection, are needed to guide ongoing public health measures, particularly those being developed in anticipation of a second wave of disease. This characterization of the evolution of the COVID-19 infection will prove vital in decision-making about immunization and protection strategies,” says Dr. Philippe Broët, who is leading the serological surveillance aspect of the grant and is Co-Scientific Director of CARTaGENE, a member cohort of CanPath. Preliminary evidence indicates that increased air pollution is both a risk factor for COVID-19 and associated with increased disease virulence, while other features of the built environment, such as green space and neighbourhood walkability, are thought to be risk factors. “Given current resource shortages, the healthcare system would benefit from patient-specific algorithms to distinguish who is likely to develop severe disease and identify biomarkers to predict future complications, as the long-term outcomes remain unknown and pose a significant threat for the future burden of disease in the population,” says Dr. Trevor Dummer, who is leading the third aim of the project and serves as Co-Scientific Director of the BC Generations Project and National Scientific Co-Director of CanPath. “Surveying our large number of engaged participants across the country powers us to determine specific genetic and environmental interactions that together may be used to identify hotspots of risk across Canada”, adds Dr. Awadalla, who is also Executive Scientific Director of the Ontario Health Study. CanPath launched a survey in April that captures not only COVID-19 testing information, but also symptoms, clinical history, and asks participants how the pandemic has affected their mental health. CanPath’s initiative is one of 139 research projects that have received more than $109M in funding  from CIHR for COVID-19 research. This investment supports research teams from across the country to focus on accelerating the development, testing, and implementation of measures to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 and its negative consequences on people, communities, and health systems. The SUPPORT-Canada research team includes co-investigators from all of CanPath’s regional cohorts, as well as experts in immunology, genomics and biobanking from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, University Hospital Network and Mount Sinai Hospital. The CIHR grant will be awarded through the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, which is a partner with the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health in supporting CanPath.  

It is well established that race is a key determinant of health. We know that race affects health outcomes and that BIPOC communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and by environmental racism, including in Atlantic Canada. This is clear evidence of the inequity in our society.   Intersectionality should be a core tenet of health research. We recognize that racism exists within the research community and that there is much work to be done. #BlackInTheIvory We support Dalhousie University’s Vice-Provost, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Theresa Rajack-Talley and the formal acknowledgement that “we have an obligation to provide an education and a community that works together to address systematic anti-Black racism and all forms of discrimination and intolerance.” Atlantic PATH is committed to being an anti-racist organization. We are dedicated to providing equal access to data and to supporting researchers throughout the research process.  We aim to continually reflect on our policies and practices so that we may do our part in working towards an equitable research community.