Chaire de recherche du Canada sur les virus prépandémiques et pandémiques et les stratégies thérapeutiques

Chaires de recherche du Canada

Domain(s):

Sciences de la santé et de l’alimentation

Mariana Baz

Professeure adjointe

Faculté de médecine

Mariana Baz is an assistant professor at the Infectious Diseases Research Centre. She also holds the Sentinel North Research Chair in Respiratory Viruses at the Animal-Human Interface: Emergence and Control and is the Associate Director of the Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory located at the CRCHU Québec-Université Laval. Dr. Baz trained in Uruguay (BSc in Biochemistry), Canada (MSc and PhD) and the United States (post-doctorate). She is an experienced virologist in pathogenesis, transmission, antiviral therapies and vaccine development/evaluation of seasonal and pandemic respiratory viruses and viruses with pandemic potential. As of 2023, she has published over 60 peer reviewed articles (h-index of 25) in high impact journals and has received several national and international awards.

Expertises de la titulaire

Respiratory viruses
Pandemic viruses
Zoonotic viruses
Reverse-genetics
In vitro
Ex vivo
Animal models
High-risk populations
Antivirals
Vaccines
Containment level 3 laboratories

Objectifs

To elucidate the molecular basis for mammalian adaptation of animal respiratory viruses and avian influenza viruses and evaluate their pandemic potential.
To evaluate novel and existing therapeutic approaches against seasonal, pre-pandemic and pandemic viruses using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models representing high-risk populations.

This Canada Research Chair (CRC) was created to support research aiming to prepare us for epidemics and potential pandemics. We aim to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in mammalian virus adaptation in zoonotic spillover, amplification, and disease transmission among animals and from animals to people. Indeed, respiratory viruses pose a continuous pandemic threat and zoonotic spillover is a poorly understood phenomenon. The proposed research program will also evaluate efficient therapeutic treatments for seasonal, pre-pandemic and pandemic viruses for general and high-risk populations using animal models. This knowledge will illuminate our fundamental understanding of potential pandemic viruses and contribute to better define transmission, evolution and associated pathogenicity globally and eventually predict about potential pandemic viruses.

Mission

To generate a unique knowledge on respiratory viruses affecting animals and humans, understand the molecular mechanisms involved in mammalian virus adaptation, and evaluate efficient therapeutic treatments for seasonal, pre-pandemic and pandemic viruses for general and high-risk populations such as immunosuppressed, obese, elderly and others.

Retombées

This CRC will advance our knowledge in pre-pandemic/pandemic viruses and therapeutic strategies. The main objective of this Chair is to improve our understanding of how respiratory mammalian viruses evolve, adapt, and transmit among animals and from animals to humans and evaluate approved or new therapeutic options. We will thus create strong synergies between different disciplines by deploying an integrative research program combining multiple experts such as virologists, immunologists, biochemists, physicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists, mathematicians, and public health specialists. Reaching this goal will better prepare us for the next pandemic which is of utmost importance to Public Health.

Importantly, this Chair will also contribute to the upbringing of the next generation of highly qualified personnel (students at all levels, research professionals, technicians), and develop their academic/professional skills and leadership values in a stimulating, pleasant and inclusive working environment.