IIGR Newsletter

March 2021

This month’s Newsletter features IIGR’s Research Fellow Dr. Kumanan Wilson.  Professor Wilson has been involved with the Institute for 20 years and is among Canada’s leading scholar on the intergovernmental dimensions of health services in general, and health security in particular.  On 16 March 2021 he will be presenting a webinar on "The Science, Policy and Technology of the Vaccine Roll Out "  -- this Contagion Culture Lecture will be moderated by Jane Philpott.. (See below for registration information)
 
Dr. Wilson’s past research with IIGR  can be found in the third section of the Newsletter.

Dr. Christian Leuprecht, IIGR Director

Kumanan Wilson

Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa

Dr. Kumanan Wilson (MD, MSc, FRCPC) is an innovation adviser at Bruyere, specialist in general internal medicine and senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa.  He holds the Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chair in Digital Health Innovation.  He is also the CEO of CANImmunize, a digital immunization solution company. 

Dr. Wilson has published extensively in the areas of digital health, immunization, pandemic preparedness, blood safety and health policy.  Dr. Wilson has been a research fellow fellow with the Institute since 2000. His work for the Institute has included examination of the role of federalism on public health policy domestically and internationally.  This has included overseeing a working paper series on public health federalism  and coordinating a conference with the WHO on public health emergency response in federal states.

Working with the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations Dr. Wilson has studied and published on the impact of federalism on: the post-Krever blood system, the development of a national health surveillance system (which included GPHIN), Canada's response to SARS, H1N1 and Listeria, immunization policy and the global implementation of the revised International Health Regulations (2005).

Dr. Wilson is currently a consultant to the WHO examining the International Health Regulations.  He is an advisory member of Ontario's Health Data Platform (led by Dean Philpott) supporting vaccine data management.  He has consulted for the federal Vaccine Task Force providing guidance leading to the announcement of a no-fault injury compensation program and is supported by Canada's Immunity Task Force to examine the implementation of vaccine passports.  He is a member of the Medicago COVID-19 vaccine trial's independent data safety board and is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study pre-term birth in low-income countries. 

The science, policy and technology of the vaccine roll-out

• Speaker: Kumanan Wilson, Physician/scientist, The Ottawa Hospital, Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Research Associate IIGR, Queen's University, CEO CANImmunize Inc. 
• Co-Host and Moderator: Jane Philpott, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences and Director, School of Medicine, Queen’s University 

1. Science - mechanism of action of mRNA vaccines, potential for viral transmission after vaccination, herd immunity threshold. 
2. Policy - federalism challenges in managing immunization programs, mandatory vaccination and immunity passports 
3. Technology - immunization registries, digital immunization applications, monitoring coverage, safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.