Vivek Goel

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

Public Health

As he prepares to take on the role of president at the University of Waterloo this week, Vivek Goel will leave behind a lasting legacy at the University of Toronto and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in particular.

The former �Թϱ�� vice-president and provost, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic innitiatives, and professor emeritus at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) enjoyed a more than three-decade relationship with the university during which he helped make Dalla Lana a renowned public health school.

After moving up through the ranks of academia, government and to the top rungs of �Թϱ��, Goel – along with fellow public health evangelist and �Թϱ�� President Emeritus David Naylor – seized the moment to carve out a stand-alone school from what is now known as the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. As a �Թϱ�� medical resident in the mid-1980s, Goel advocated for the creation of a separate public health faculty. As a young academic, he was part of a group that recognized the power of marrying epidemiology with health systems and policy, forming the roots of IHPME.

“The first few weeks of [my] stepping into the dean’s position, Vivek invited me to lunch for a pep talk and a few specific mandates,” recalls Catharine Whiteside, former dean of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

“One request was to establish a school of public health and, with his support, the strategic planning was started that required considerable culture change. When Paul Dalla Lana came along a couple of years later, we were ready for his investment and the school was launched. It took a while, but the DLSPH emerged as a separate, very successful faculty – just as Vivek envisioned.”

Vivek Goel earned a master’s
degree in community health
from �Թϱ�� in 1988.

Goel first arrived at �Թϱ�� as an intern in 1984 and started as a graduate student and post-graduate medical resident in 1986 in the medicine faculty’s old division of community health (now Dalla Lana). The program has produced a number of top government health leaders, including David Williams and Sheela Basrur, both former Ontario chief medical officers of health, and Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

In addition, some of Goel’s former students, including Doug Manuel, Ross Upshur and Laura Rosella, are among the leading Canadian academics in public health.

Along the way, Goel met his wife, then-epidemiology student Susan Jaglal, who is now chair of the department of physical therapy in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Goel earned a master’s degree in health administration and another in biostatistics at Harvard University. Walking the halls of a building entirely dedicated to public health in Boston, he was struck by the energy and ambition of the stand-alone faculty.

An early attempt

As chief resident and a member of student government, Goel was tapped to serve on a committee reviewing the division of community health at �Թϱ��. It had been a decade since the old School of Hygiene had folded and its remnants were getting lost in the enormous medical school.

“There was a set of us that felt strongly that community health wasn’t working well in medicine and recommended that a separate school should be created,” recalls Goel. “The majority of the committee said we should focus on further implementing community medicine within FOM. I was one of the people signing the minority report. It was my first real engagement in that kind of academic review process and it shaped my interest in academic leadership.”

Goel joined the Faculty of Medicine, as it was then known, as a professor in 1991 and went on to help found IC/ES. During the 1990s, he watched, as a status-only faculty member, as the future of public health at �Թϱ�� was reviewed and reviewed again. The very first bit of success, he recalls, was in the mid-1990s when preventive medicine merged with other disciplines including the behavioural sciences to create the department of public health sciences. By that time he had moved on to campus as a full-time faculty member.

At the same time, Goel was eyeing the launch of an exciting new area of public health. “We had population epidemiology and preventive medicine, but this emerging strength of clinical epidemiology was largely ignored on campus and it grew up in the hospitals and clinical departments,” he says. “The dean of medicine at the time, Professor Arnie Aberman, coaxed me into becoming the chair of Health Administration, and being part of the team to bring clinical epidemiology into the department.

“We went from being focussed primarily on hospital management and health policy to merging with all this great clinical epidemiological and health services research at the hospitals.”

The department would continue to expand, eventually morphing into IHPME.

Making his move

The 2003 SARS crisis was a defining moment for public health in Canada. The disease hit an unprepared country with a weaker public health infrastructure than existed in peer nations. The following year, Goel started a four-year stint as �Թϱ��’s vice president and provost. A year later, Naylor became the university’s president and Whiteside was appointed dean of medicine.

“We were well lined up,” says Goel. “Cathy (Whiteside) commissioned a review and laid out the plan to create a school of public health within medicine and, over time, build up the foundations to create a freestanding faculty. Then Paul Dalla Lana stepped forward with the founding gift to establish the DLSPH as part of the university’s post-SARS vision.

“DLSPH with IHPME as part of it is so well positioned now because you look at its strengths across chronic and infectious diseases, mental health, biostatistics, occupational and environmental health, epidemiology, social sciences in health and bioethics – and then you connect these with the rest of the university and its affiliated institutions, and there are so many great opportunities,” he says. “At Harvard, I remember comparing and asking why can’t we have something like this? Now, when we were able to walk the halls in the Health Sciences Building, you feel the same sort of vibe I felt at Harvard. And I know it’s only going to continue to get better.”

As president of Public Health Ontario, Vivek Goel monitors the latest developments in the H1N1 flu virus in 2009 (photo by Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Goel left �Թϱ�� in 2008 to become the founding president and CEO of Public Health Ontario, an organization created in response to SARS. Despite the high-ranking position, Professor Emeritus Chandrakant Shah – an early influence on Goel’s thinking around equity and diversity – frequently called or dropped by his office, unannounced, to advocate for more equitable representation among public health leaders.

Shah recalls fondly that Goel never turned him away, and always levelled with him.

“He always cared for his colleagues, his students and even his mentors,” says Shah. “He’s a brilliant, strategic thinker with the academic experience, but also he knows how to deal with the public and private sectors. He has been a good friend to the school over the years.”

Goel returned to �Թϱ�� seven years later as vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. When the pandemic hit, he quickly became special adviser to the university’s president and provost on the pandemic – all while serving on numerous national COVID-19 committees and task forces and maintaining a regular podcast on the pandemic.

His list of honours is long and includes membership in the Order of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, along with many teaching awards.

Vivek Goel, then �Թϱ��’s vice-president, research and innovation, delivers remarks at a 2015 funding announcement that enabled the creation of Medicine by Design, an interdisciplinary regenerative medicine initiative (photo by University of Toronto)

“He is someone who teaches you to believe in yourself and empowers you to have an impact in ways you could not have imagined,” recalls Laura Rosella, an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and former post-doctoral researcher who worked with Goel. “His commitment and dedication to mentorship in a way that builds people up will be felt for generations to come as many of those he has trained have become top public health and health system leaders and researchers.”

As president of a major Canadian university, Goel now hopes to use his experience and platform to advocate for a stronger public health system in Canada.

“I hope I’ll be able to bring a voice for public health much more broadly across the country and to many other tables,” he says. “In other countries they have figured out ways to insulate the public-health infrastructure from politics. We need people to talk about how to protect and sustain them, and there’s a role for academic institutions in that process.”

He is also eager to maintain ties as a professor emeritus at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and to share ideas about how to raise the public health literacy of Canadians on a broad level.

That’s a promise Dean Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown says he will remember.

“Vivek has had a leadership role in shaping the careers of many of our students, alumni and faculty, our school, our public health system and Canada’s response to the pandemic, among so many other accomplishments,” says Brown. “I know that he will bring the same impactful leadership to Waterloo – but I can’t imagine our school without him.”

A community comes together: �Թϱ�� marks one year of COVID-19

geoff.vendeville — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:20:27 +0000

A community comes together: �Թϱ�� marks one year of COVID-19

geoff.vendeville Thu, 03/18/2021 - 12:20

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Sunnybrook Health Sciences

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

UTogether

Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship

It was one year ago this week that COVID-19 prompted the University of Toronto to shift to virtual operations.

Looking back over the past 12 months, what’s striking are the myriad ways the �Թϱ�� community responded to the pandemic. Time and time again, students, faculty, staff and librarians demonstrated their resilience, innovativeness and eagerness to support one another and the broader community.

From working on COVID-19 tests and treatments to educating the world on the importance of physical distancing and other emergency measures, �Թϱ�� researchers quickly established themselves as key players in the global pandemic response. At the same time, �Թϱ�� students and professors showed their flexibility and ingenuity as COVID-19 led to virtual classes and the first off-campus convocations in the university’s history. Many also found ways to support each other and the broader community, including front-line health workers.

The �Թϱ�� community also stood up against anti-Black and other types of systemic racism as the virus took a disproportionate toll on members of racialized and marginalized communities in North America.

Now that vaccines for COVID-19 have arrived, �Թϱ�� is once again mobilizing its resources to support a historic immunization drive by preparing to host vaccination clinics on all three campuses.

Here is a brief snapshot of 12 unprecedented months in �Թϱ��’s 194-year history:

�Թϱ�� researchers race to understand a new global threat

Robert Kozak and Samira Mubareka, both in �Թϱ��'s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology and at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, cultured the novel coronavirus behind COVID-19 from clinical specimens (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Samira Mubareka and Robert Kozak – both of �Թϱ��’s department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, as well as Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre – wasted no time in investigating the mysterious new illness that emerged in Canada after spreading around the world.

In March of 2020, the pair, along McMaster’s Arinjay Banerjee, successfully isolated the virus causing COVID-19 and reproduced it in a lab. The research was critical to understand the virus and, importantly, help develop treatments and vaccines.

They were just two of scores of researchers at �Թϱ�� and its partner hospitals whose work shed light on the mysterious illness. Some worked on new treatments, vaccines and developed models of the outbreak that helped guide authorities. Others turned their attention to developing better tests and medical equipment. Still others focused their attention on understanding the potential impact of COVID-19 on society – including racialized and marginalized groups – as well as the broader economy, and are now helping to plot a path to recovery.

At a time of great uncertainty, �Թϱ�� faculty and alumni share their expertise with decision-makers and the public

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Over 34 podcast episodes, Vivek Goel – a former vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives and �Թϱ��’s first special adviser to the president and provost on COVID-19 – shared the latest public-health advice and weighed in on issues that were top of mind for many listeners, like how to gather safely, how the virus originated and the progress made toward developing vaccines.

Goel was one of a large group of �Թϱ�� experts who became a trusted source of information for the public during the pandemic, with many appearing regularly on TV and radio broadcasts, and in print media.

Many �Թϱ�� experts were also tapped to directly advise policy-makers on their COVID-19 response at all levels of government. That included leading task forces that looked at everything from immunity levels to overcoming vaccine hesitancy among members of Toronto’s Black community.

�Թϱ�� students band together to help front-line workers and at-risk people

Medical students Daniel Lee, Orly Bogler (appearing via video conference), Jordynn Klein and Tingting Yan organized volunteers from their class and other programs to help front-line health-care workers during the COVID-19 crisis (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Even before the WHO declared a global pandemic, �Թϱ�� medical students were organizing to take some of the load off front-line workers by helping them with domestic chores. Students Jordynn Klein, Daniel Lee, Tingting Yan and Orly Bogler recruited hundreds of student volunteers to babysit, fetch groceries and run errands for health-care workers and other front-line staff.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. With reports of a personal protective equipment shortage, �Թϱ�� students took it upon themselves to collect safety gear for donation at hospitals, clinics and long-term care homes and organize volunteer sewing drives to produce thousands of badly needed masks.

�Թϱ�� students demonstrate resilience and compassion

Ashley Mutasa, a Lester B. Pearson scholar and �Թϱ�� Mississauga student, completed the 2020 winter semester from Winnipeg, where she was staying with her older sister (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

When COVID-19 first struck last March, many �Թϱ�� students – particularly international students – were faced with a particularly difficult choice: Go home amid rapidly changing travel restrictions or stay in Toronto not knowing when they would see their families next.

Yet, even amidst the chaos and uncertainty, students managed to support one another. Ashley Mutasa, a Lester B. Pearson scholar from Zimbabwe studying at �Թϱ�� Mississauga, shared advice for fellow students in a personal essay she wrote while staying with relatives in Winnipeg.

“My message to other students who are going through a tough time right now is: reach out to someone. The biggest resource we have is each other,” she said.

And reach out they did. Over the following 12 months, �Թϱ�� students repeatedly demonstrated the depth of their support for another by finding new ways to celebrate convocation, offer virtual orientation activities to incoming students – even spearheading the development of a mental health peer support network at the university.

Students, faculty and staff step up to combat anti-Black racism

Pictured here in her Riverdale hair salon, wellness activator Allison Hill helped create a series of virtual workshops for �Թϱ�� community members that address the impact of racism through restorative activities (photo by Johnny Guatto)

The killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and other Black people by police last year ignited a global movement for social justice and racial equality.

In addition to launching a task force on anti-Black racism at the university, �Թϱ�� worked with other post-secondary institutions to launch the National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities.

To address the impacts of racism and anti-Black racism on �Թϱ�� community members, the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office launched a series of virtual discussions and workshops, including sessions in partnership with Toronto-based wellness activator Allison Hill.

“The impact of trauma is felt by the �Թϱ�� community,” said Karima Hashmani, �Թϱ��’s executive director of equity, diversity and inclusion.

“This space helps legitimize and affirm the experiences Black and racialized people face collectively. We are dedicated to creating culturally relevant spaces that take into account intersectional identities and provide community healing.”

As the ground shifts underfoot, faculty find innovate ways to support students

�Թϱ�� Assistant Professor Fabian Parsch, who sings in a barbershop quartet, re-created the warmth of his classroom environment by saying goodbye to students at the end of term to the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in a video performance (image via YouTube)

From the outset of the crisis, �Թϱ�� faculty showed compassion for students undergoing increased stress and difficulties borne out of the pandemic. Fabian Parsch, an assistant professor in the department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts & Science, put his a cappella skills to work to wish his students and teaching assistants in MAT187 a nice summer to the tune of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

In online office hours, he listened to students who were facing family or travel issues related to the pandemic, granting them extensions on assignments if necessary.

Elsewhere at �Թϱ��, professors similarly worked hard to support students and make their virtual classrooms as engaging and innovative as possible. That included everything from reaching out on social media to using virtual reality to beam labs into students homes and spending days making 3D-printed skulls that could be dropped off on their doorsteps.

Staff and librarians rise to the occasion

Friends and fellow Trinity College students Piya Sial (left) and Shashwat Aggarwal (right) completed their respective two-week quarantines – one floor apart – after returning to Toronto from India for the 2020 fall semester (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Throughout the past year, �Թϱ�� staff rose to the challenge represented by the pandemic by carrying out more frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces, upgrading building ventilation systems and installing other safety measures, and shepherding hundreds of students through self-isolation as part of the university’s quarantine program.

Piya Sial, a student at Trinity College, was one of many international students whose 14-day quarantine was facilitated by �Թϱ�� and included a ride from the airport, a room at a downtown hotel, regular meals and a daily check-up call from university health and wellness staff.

“It was amazing,” she told �Թϱ��. “I don’t think they could have done anything more.”

It was a similar story across the three campuses as staff found innovative ways to adapt essential services previously held in person for a year of physical distancing. They moved staple services like fitness classes and counselling sessions online, while launching new initiatives to help students study at home or manage stress.

�Թϱ�� provides space, people and resources to aid Canada’s historic immunization drive

By the end of March, up to 2,000 doses a day of Health Canada-approved vaccine is expected to be delivered at a clinic located at �Թϱ�� Mississauga that's run by Trillium Health Partners and overseen by Peel Public Health (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

In the weeks coinciding with the anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, �Թϱ�� partnered with its affiliated hospitals and public health authorities to set up vaccine clinics at key locations on campus to support a historic immunization campaign.

A mass vaccination site at �Թϱ�� Mississauga opened the first week of March with an initial capacity to deliver up to 2,000 doses per day. A few weeks later, the University Health Network worked with �Թϱ�� and Toronto Public Health launched a second site inside the university’s Exam Centre on the St. George campus, boosting vaccination capacity in the heart of the city and drawing more than thousand student volunteers.

Another vaccination site is planned at �Թϱ�� Scarborough.

Five tips for staying healthy over the holidays

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 21:10:00 +0000

Five tips for staying healthy over the holidays

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/17/2020 - 16:10

Cutline

(photo by lisegagne via Getty Images)

Topic

As we head into a season when many people traditionally gather with family and friends, public health advice could be boiled down to one word: don’t.

There are exceptions, of course. You may have a friend or relative who lives alone and needs support. But for the most part, experts say, now is the time to exercise caution and restraint.

“The current modelling shows that in most parts of Canada, things will get worse before they get better,” Professor Vivek Goel, a public health expert and special adviser to the University of Toronto’s president and provost, says in the latest episode of his podcast. “We have to limit our interactions over the holidays in order to break the chain of transmission.

“Generally, it's recommended that you stick to your own household.”

A household is usually defined as the people you live with – either family or roommates. Those who live alone may get together exclusively with one other household.

Because COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus, experts can’t yet say what kind of immunity you can get if you’ve had the virus. We don’t know, for example, whether someone who’s recovered from COVID-19 could still carry and transmit the virus months later. So, for now, with hospitals stretched and case numbers going up, it’s a good idea to act as if you might have the virus and avoid spreading it to anyone.

With that in mind, here are five tips for keeping yourself and others safe over the holidays.

Stay home

Throughout our communities, many people work in jobs that require them to show up in person and interact with others – whether they’re working in health care, food services, schools, manufacturing or other essential sectors. So, to reduce overall transmission in the community, those of us who can stay home, should stay home.

Social bonds are important for mental health, so public health experts strongly advise you find ways to connect remotely. Just make sure you’re being together while staying apart. Back when community transmission was lower, people were encouraged to meet up in person in a physically distanced way for social connection – sitting at an outdoor café or in a park, walking through ravines or hanging out in a backyard. Be cautious and check the public health guidelines where you live before you make plans.

Mind the gap

Practising physical distancing is key. While public health officials say not to worry about briefly passing someone on the sidewalk, your goal should still be to keep at least two metres apart from anyone you don’t live with – whether you’re shopping for groceries or riding the TTC. Do what you can to avoid crowds and limit shopping or other outings to times when fewer people are around. This isn’t just for your safety – you’re also protecting others given that some people can be infected, but asymptomatic. Just because you look and feel fine doesn’t mean you aren’t carrying and spreading the virus.

Wear a mask

Don’t leave home without a non-medical mask. Wear a mask indoors anywhere you might encounter people who are not part of your household – the hardware store, the subway, streetcar, bus, grocery store or workplace. It’s also a good idea to wear a mask outdoors if you’re unlikely to be able to practise physical distancing.

In the early days of the pandemic, we were told to wear masks to protect others (“My mask protects you, your mask protects me”) but recent research suggests wearing a mask can also reduce the risks to the wearer. Experts now say that a three-ply mask is best, but if you invested in a two-ply mask that you love, don’t toss it aside – you can combine it with another layer. And, as we all know by now, the mask goes over the nose as well as the mouth.

Wash your hands

With the return of colder weather and dry air indoors, you may want to keep hand lotion or moisturizer beside the sink– because the basic public health advice to wash your hands isn’t going away any time soon. Use soap, lather up for at least 20 seconds or long enough to sing yourself whatever tune you like, and know that this simple step is helping to reduce the risk to everyone in your household. For times when you may not have access to soap and water, carry hand sanitizer. And even though you’re cleaning your hands, avoid touching your face.

Check in

If you haven’t already downloaded the federal government’s COVID-19 app, now is a good time to do so. For students, staff, faculty and librarians who may need to visit campus over the break, remember to complete a self-assessment before you leave home, using UCheck or a paper-based tool. Students who are staying on campus over the break should fill out a self-assessment every day.

With the world still learning how to live with this new virus, there remains much uncertainty ahead. Yet, by following a few simple precautions, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy a happy – and healthy – holiday season.

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 34) Vivek Goel on year’s end

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 15:09:40 +0000

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 34) Vivek Goel on year’s end Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/17/2020 - 10:09

Topic

In his final podcast on the COVID-19 pandemic, renowned public health expert Vivek Goel looks back over an extraordinary year.

“As we've adopted new technologies at an unprecedented pace, we've transitioned to new ways of doing things in education, in health and in business. We've also seen significant supports for those in need and incredible advances in science and technology that we might not have imagined even a few months ago,” says Goel, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a special adviser to the president and provost who is helping guide the university’s COVID-19 planning efforts.

“So let's be thankful for all we have as we head into the holidays and think of how we can support those who have been less fortunate.”

Episode 34 of the What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast will be the last for Goel – the founding head of Public Health Ontario, which was set up in response to the 2003 SARS outbreak – as he prepares to embark on an academic leave this winter. In his final episode, Goel reflects on the challenges and triumphs of 2020, reminding listeners that some have had a much tougher year than others: People have lost their livelihoods and some have lost loved ones.

“The current modelling shows that in most parts of Canada, things will get worse before they get better. We have to limit our interactions over the holidays in order to break the chain of transmission,” Goel says. “Generally, it's recommended that you stick to your own household.

“If you must interact with others try and do so outdoors, maintain physical distancing, wear masks, practise hand hygiene and stay home if symptomatic. These core public health recommendations have not changed.”

The COVID-19: What’s Next podcast was created by Goel in collaboration with a University of Toronto Communications team led by producer Lisa Lightbourn.

Note: The information in this podcast is current as of the posting date. Listeners should consult their local public health agency for the latest information in their jurisdiction.

See a list of all the podcast episodes

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on SoundCloud

Subscribe on Google

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 33) Vivek Goel on vaccine delivery

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 22:39:52 +0000

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 33) Vivek Goel on vaccine delivery Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/03/2020 - 17:39

Topic

Vaccines for COVID-19 are on their way – but much work remains to be done to ensure a safe and effective rollout across Canada, says renowned public health expert Vivek Goel.

“It's simply miraculous what has been accomplished in the past year in the development of the new vaccines,” says Goel, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a special adviser to the president and provost who is helping guide the university’s COVID-19 planning efforts.

“While there's a lot of attention on the manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine, we have to remember there are many other critical components and this is going to be an incredible exercise in co-ordination.”

In episode 33 of the What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast, Goel – the founding head of Public Health Ontario, which was set up in response to the 2003 SARS outbreak – discusses what will be involved in managing and delivering an immunization program on such a massive scale. That includes determining where people can receive the vaccine and sourcing equipment such as needles, syringes, cotton swabs and personal protective equipment for those running the program. People will also be needed to book appointments, manage lineups, administer the vaccine and handle cleaning and infection control of the spaces. Others will be needed to track adverse events and follow up with patients when a second dose is required. Monitoring and serological studies will also be required to track immunity.

“It is simply unrealistic to expect that this can, or should, be done quickly if it's going to be effective and safe,” Goel says. “But this is the best glimmer of hope that we've had in some time.

“There's still a lot of work to be done, and many pitfalls to overcome, but we can see an end in sight for this pandemic.”

The COVID-19: What’s Next podcast is created by Goel in collaboration with a University of Toronto Communications team led by producer Lisa Lightbourn.

Note: The information in this podcast is current as of the posting date. Listeners should consult their local public health agency for the latest information in their jurisdiction.

See a list of all the podcast episodes

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on SoundCloud

Subscribe on Google

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 32) Vivek Goel on travel

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:25:48 +0000

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 32) Vivek Goel on travel Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 11/19/2020 - 17:25

Cutline

(photo by Jupiterimages via Getty Images)

Topic

Across Canada and around the world, the pandemic has resulted in severe constraints on international and domestic travel, raising the question: Will business, educational and personal travel ever return to pre-pandemic levels?

“Countries are going to have to figure out how to open up in some way,” says Professor Vivek Goel. “There are many different pilot approaches being undertaken.”

In episode 32 of the What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast, Goel explores the positive impact of the reduction in travel on the environment – and the negative impact it has had on tourism, the economy and personal lives as people can no longer travel to see family or attend weddings and funerals.

“The European Union has taken a risk-based approach based on transmission rates in countries and allowing people from lower-risk countries to move more freely,” says Goel, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a special adviser to the president and provost who is helping guide the university’s COVID-19 planning efforts. “In Alberta, there is a pilot being done with testing on arrival and day seven, allowing people to have a reduced quarantine in exchange for more significant monitoring and testing.

“I, along with some colleagues, recently completed a study, which will soon be published, which supports this type of approach.”

Goel – a renowned public health expert and founding head of Public Health Ontario, which was set up in response to the 2003 SARS outbreak – says quarantine has significant economic, psychological consequences.

“If we can find a way to reduce it, it should help restore some travel. I'm hopeful that we will find some way to bring travel back.”

The COVID-19: What’s Next podcast is created by Goel in collaboration with a University of Toronto Communications team led by producer Lisa Lightbourn.

Note: The information in this podcast is current as of the posting date. Listeners should consult their local public health agency for the latest information in their jurisdiction.

See a list of all the podcast episodes

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on SoundCloud

Subscribe on Google

�Թϱ��’s Vivek Goel named next president and vice-chancellor of University of Waterloo

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 20:21:21 +0000

�Թϱ��’s Vivek Goel named next president and vice-chancellor of University of Waterloo

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 11/17/2020 - 15:21

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Meric Gertler

Vivek Goel, a renowned public health expert who served six years at the head of the University of Toronto’s research division, is leaving �Թϱ�� to become the University of Waterloo’s seventh president and vice-chancellor.

Goel, a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is currently helping to guide �Թϱ��’s COVID-19 planning efforts as a special adviser to the president and the provost.

He will begin his five-year term at Waterloo on July 1.

“I have spent 35 years as a student and faculty member at �Թϱ��,” Goel said. “It is sad to be leaving but I am excited by the opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with colleagues here as we promote the role of research-intensive institutions in our society as we recover from the pandemic.”

�Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler thanked Goel for his years of distinguished service and wished him well in his new role.

“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto community, I would like to congratulate Professor Vivek Goel on his appointment as president of the University of Waterloo,” said President Gertler.

“Vivek has made extraordinary contributions to �Թϱ��’s success, to higher education and advanced research more generally, and to public health and public policy. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and his friendship, and I look forward to collaborating with him as a fellow president of one Canada’s U15 research universities.”

Goel’s long association with �Թϱ�� began when he arrived to complete post-graduate medical training in community medicine after earning a medical degree from McGill University. He would later obtain a master’s degree in community health from �Թϱ�� and a master’s degree in biostatistics from Harvard University.

Goel joined �Թϱ��’s faculty in 1991 as an assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine and biostatistics before moving into a succession of progressively more senior leadership roles. That included a four-year stint as �Թϱ��’s vice-president and provost from 2004 to 2008. He left to become the founding head of Public Health Ontario, which was formed in response to the 2003 SARS crisis, and also served as chief academic strategist for Coursera before returning to �Թϱ�� as vice-president, research and innovation, in 2015.

As head of �Թϱ��’s research division, Goel oversaw a number of significant milestones that cemented �Թϱ��’s reputation as a world-class research institution. They include the creation of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, which was established thanks to a $130 million-gift from the Rogers family, and the establishment of Medicine by Design, an initiative supported by a $114 million federal investment to promote transformative research in regenerative medicine. Goel also played a key role in the creation of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre and Institute for Technology and Society, a new 750,000-square-foot home for �Թϱ��’s world-leading AI and biomedical researchers, entrepreneurs and startups that was made possible thanks to a $100-million investment by business leaders and philanthropists Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman.

Speaking to �Թϱ�� last year, Goel said he sought to harness �Թϱ��’s expertise across disciplines to foster creativity and innovation.

“To me, what makes �Թϱ�� unique is these broad interdisciplinary strengths that we can build on, the connection with our communities locally, nationally and globally, and the fact that we're open and accessible, which means that we get students from around the world who want to work on these really big problems,” he said.

Other major initiatives Goel was involved with include �Թϱ��’s School of Cities and, externally, the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence. He also helped build a growing entrepreneurship network that allowed �Թϱ�� to become a North American leader in the creation of research-based companies.

Goel is a passionate advocate for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. As head of �Թϱ��’s research division, he struck a working group focused on the issue and put out a special call for Canada Research Chair nominations for researchers in underrepresented groups.

Goel stepped down from his role as vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, this summer to become a special adviser to President Gertler and Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr on COVID-19.

As an expert in public health, he told �Թϱ�� he saw the pandemic as a call to action.

“I’m just trying to do what I think is best for the university and the country, and spend my time where I can focus on big public health issues,” he said in June.

As Goel helped �Թϱ�� navigate the public health crisis, he also served on the federal government’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force – all the while hosting a podcast to provide the public with information about the coronavirus.

Goel said he was eager to take up a new challenge in Waterloo.

“Research-intensive institutions like Waterloo will create the biggest change and best solutions for our future, whether it is tackling public-health challenges, addressing anti-racism, dealing with the growing climate crisis or spurring economic recovery and growth,” he said in a statement.

Cindy Forbes, chair of the University of Waterloo’s board of governors, welcomed Goel to Waterloo.

“Dr. Goel has decades of experience and expertise as a university leader and as a champion of student experience, research and innovation,” she said in a statement. “He is uniquely qualified to guide the institution and to bolster our strengths at the intersection of health, society and technology.”

Researchers at �Թϱ��, McMaster study COVID-19 testing protocols for arriving international travellers

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 18:38:05 +0000

Researchers at �Թϱ��, McMaster study COVID-19 testing protocols for arriving international travellers

geoff.vendeville Tue, 11/17/2020 - 13:38

Cutline

A study by McMaster HealthLabs suggests that an airport-based COVID-19 test followed by a second test one week later could eliminate the need for mandatory two-week quarantines for arriving international travellers (Xinhua/Zou Zheng via Getty Images)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Breaking Research

Global

McMaster HealthLabs, a COVID-19-focused non-profit organization associated with researchers at McMaster University, the Research Institute of St. Joe’s Hamilton, the University of Toronto and other universities, has released the interim results of a border study that support “a test and reduced quarantine” approach to restrictions on international travel.

The study, conducted with the support of the federal government and in partnership with Air Canada and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, gathered data on the share of international travellers who arrive with COVID-19 and explored the effectiveness of airport-based oral/nasal testing and self-collected swabs.

In the study’s pilot phase, 8,600 people who arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport between Sept. 3 and Oct. 2 were tested for COVID-19 – and given follow-up tests over the next two weeks, with a total of 21,000 tests administered. While 99 per cent of travellers tested negative, one per cent were found to be positive for COVID-19 – with 68.5 per cent of cases detected on the first day, 25.8 per cent in a follow-up test a week later, and 5.6 per cent on day 14.

Researchers say the results suggest a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on arrival would detect 70 per cent of positives and that a second test one week later would capture most of the remaining cases – thus eliminating the need for a mandatory two-week quarantine for arriving international travellers.

“Interim results from the border study support a test and reduced quarantine approach such as that being piloted in Calgary,” said Vivek Goel, a professor at �Թϱ��’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health who was a co-principal investigator of the study.

Alberta’s COVID-19 border testing pilot allows travellers to quarantine for less time if they test negative at a border crossing, stay within the province for two weeks and take another test on day six or seven.

“Testing upon arrival with a follow-up test to catch later positive results could provide a reasonable path forward to help keep borders and the economy open while maintaining public safety,” said Goel, a special adviser to �Թϱ��’s president and provost who is helping to guide the university’s response to the pandemic.

�Թϱ�� researchers, including Associate Professor Laura Rosella of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Professor Cheryl Regehr of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, will analyze the dataset to examine “not only the risks related to COVID-19 but also the experiences and attitudes of individuals in quarantine,” Goel added.

The full results of the study are expected to be released in January and submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication. The researchers anticipate that the final report will include data for 16,000 participants and 40,000 tests, with information about infection rates by age group and geographic region.

“The border study provides public health officials with critical information to support decision making through the pandemic,” said Marek Smieja, McMaster HealthLabs’ scientific director, co-principal investigator and a professor of pathology and molecular medicine at McMaster.

“In addition to demonstrating the feasibility of conducting COVID-19 testing at the airport, the study has also shown the effectiveness of a self-collected COVID-19 sample using a cheek and nasal swab that is completed in minutes.”

‘Another level of precaution and safety’: �Թϱ��’s Vivek Goel on the latest mask guidelines

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 20:17:43 +0000

‘Another level of precaution and safety’: �Թϱ��’s Vivek Goel on the latest mask guidelines

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 11/10/2020 - 15:17

Cutline

(photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Topic

In an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19, Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, recently recommended that Canadians wear masks with three layers, including a filter layer, as opposed to the two-layer masks many people have been using to date.

Does this mean you should now discard all your two-layer masks? And what is the science behind the new recommendation?

Writer Paul Fraumeni explored these questions with Vivek Goel, a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a special adviser to �Թϱ��’s president and provost who is helping to guide the university’s pandemic response.

Do you support Tam’s recommendation to wear three-layer masks?

Yes, with the winter coming, many people will be spending more time indoors. It is important that we continue with all the recommended precautions, including regular hand washing or use of hand sanitizer, limiting being indoors with people you don’t live with and staying six feet apart when you are in enclosed spaces. But many will have to be, for example, on buses and subways or in supermarkets and other retail stores. This recommendation from Dr. Tam is just another level of precaution and safety.

What about our two-layer masks – do we now have to throw them out and find three-layer masks?

Dr. Tam has not recommended discarding any of the two-layer masks that you have. My advice is to feel free to continue to use the masks that you have, but if you’re in a close-contact environment you might want to consider a new three-layer mask. Or with your existing masks, you can double them up. Some people are using, for example, a paper mask with a cloth mask. If you have a two-layer mask, there are other ways of getting to the three-layer level of protection without throwing all your masks away.

Why have health officials changed their guidance on masks throughout the pandemic?

When this virus first emerged, the global health community knew little about it. It was brand new. Since then, the knowledge base has been evolving and so the recommendations evolve. Dr. Tam made another important point when she said she could well be recommending something else new about masks in a few months. This knowledge is based on science and we need to stay science-based. It is going to continue to evolve. This evolution of knowledge is part of the normal course of science. It is usually hidden from the public, but it is quite visible and high profile as we go through a pandemic. It was the same with the virus that became known as HIV-AIDS. When it was first affecting people, we knew nothing about it. But experience and research continued to help us learn and make recommendations for safety and treatment.

Wearing a mask has become a common practice. But can you remind us of the benefits?

We know now that people who have COVID-19 in the early stages of infection can be asymptomatic. That means they don’t have symptoms of the virus such as a cough or fever. But they can still be contagious in this asymptomatic stage. So, the primary goal of wearing a mask is actually to prevent you from transmitting the virus to others if you are infectious but asymptomatic. But a good, multi-layer mask also likely helps to protect you from those who have COVID-19. The more layers you put in, the more likely it becomes a two-way protection.

How do masks actually work in protecting us from spreading or contracting COVID?

The virus is primarily spread by droplets you cough or sneeze into the air and, to a lesser extent, onto your hands and then you touch a surface and others touch it soon after.

A significant fraction of the droplets you’re breathing out are going to get blocked by the mask. The level of protection is just logic. The more layers you put in, the more particles you will block. Cloth masks are made by weaving fibres together. At a microscopic level, there are spaces between the fibres and the spaces are actually larger than the smallest viral particles. So, if you have a single-layer mask, a lot particles could pass through more easily.

Adding more layers improves the protection?

Yes, but the protection has a lot to do with how you position the layers and change the position of the weave. There is a good analogy you may have heard about with the holes in a slice of Swiss cheese. If you have two slices and you orient them in different directions you’re going to not have that many holes left. That’s how a multi-layered mask works. The more layers you add in different orientations, the more you reduce the spaces between the fibres.

What about the actual materials used to make the mask?

This is a key point of Dr. Tam’s recommendation. The Public Health Agency of Canada is recommending a mask have two layers that are cloth material and the third layer is a filtered type of fabric. They are suggesting a polypropylene fabric. That’s the kind of material that is used in the N95 masks that health professionals use.

So, when you have polypropylene, which is the filter fabric, and then more layers of regular cloth, you’ve actually created a pretty substantial barrier.

And it’s always important to re-state that it’s not about perfect protection, but about reducing risk. If you reduce risk enough and continue to wear a mask, wash your hands, stay six feet apart and avoid large gatherings, you’re bringing the overall community transmission rate down.

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 31) Vivek Goel answers your questions

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 20:05:10 +0000

What’s Next? COVID-19 podcast: (Ep 31) Vivek Goel answers your questions Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 11/05/2020 - 15:05

Topic