Listed below in a searchable and downloadable (MS Excel, CSV) format is the most up-to-date inventory of COVID-19-related research projects (including clinical trials) in British Columbia.
Due to the volume of information received, please scroll to the right to see the complete inventory table.
Note: This inventory is a work in progress and is not a complete list; it may also include studies that have not yet been approved to start.
| Title | BC Lead Investigator(s) | Other Collaborators | Lead Organization | Other organizations | Types of research question(s) | Biomedical questions | Clinical questions | Health services and policy questions | Population and public health questions | Specific to BC or larger national/international project | Funder(s) | Description | BC Geographic Areas | Clinical Trial? | Trial Phase | Clinicaltrials.gov identifier (if applicable) | Ethics File number | Study population attributes | |||
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| id | record_id | Title | BC Lead Investigator(s) | Other Collaborators | Lead Organization | Other organizations | Types of research question(s) | Biomedical questions | Clinical questions | Health services and policy questions | Population and public health questions | Specific to BC or larger national/international project | Funder(s) | Description | BC Geographic Areas | BC Geographic Areas | Clinical Trial? | Trial Phase | Clinicaltrials.gov identifier (if applicable) | Ethics File number | Study population attributes |
| 7.886 | 1 | CATCO: Canadian Treatments for COVID19 | Srinivas Murthy | Fiona Auld, Sara Belga, Gregory Deans, James Douglas, Jennifer Grant, Allison Mah, Daniel Ovakim, Eric Partlow, David Patrick, Natasha Press, Ted Steiner, Titus Yeung | UBC | Fraser Health, Interior Health, Northern Health, Island Health, BCCDC, Providence Health, Vancouver Coastal, BC Children's and Women's | Biomedical | Understanding more about the virus and its pathways of effects, Potential drug therapies | Multi-provincial or multi-nati | CIHR | A randomized, controlled trial of lopinavir/ritonavir in hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID19. | Vancouver/Surrey | Vancouver, Fraser, Island | Yes | Phase II | NCT04330690 | H20-00737 | Tested positive, Adult, Pediatric, In-Hospital | |||
| 7.887 | 3 | SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Research: Fast track isothermal viral diagnostics | Peter J Unrau, Masahiro Niikura | Michael Adachi (SFU), Robert Britton (SFU), Marc Romney (Providence Health Care Vancouver), Don Sin (UBC). | SFU | Providence Health UBC | Clinical | Optimizing diagnosis and treatment | BC-specific | CIHR | The Unrau laboratory at Simon Fraser University has engineered an isothermal RNA detection kit that reports the presence of RNA template by fluorogenic aptamer (RNA Mango) synthesis in a simple fluorogenic assay (Mango NASBA). This technology, which currently is being commercialised for the detection of pathogens in human tissue culture, can be rapidly adapted for the detection of SARS-CoV_2 and offers several advantages over conventional RT-PCR: 1. Isothermal Mango NASBA viral testing has a considerably simpler work flow than RT-PCR requiring only a simple fixed temperature device capable of detecting fluorescent readout. This offers the potential to implement real time viral testing at venues (i.e. airports, borders, hospitals etc) not normally considered with existing RT-PCR methodologies and that require more costly real-time thermocycler infrastructure to implement. 2. We anticipate that Mango NASBA offers a significant time saving of ~3-4 fold relative to a standard RT-PCR assay (90-120 min) in high viral load samples. Should high sensitivity detection be required, Nested Mango NASBA can be performed subsequently. Nested Mango NASBA has sensitivity directly comparable to RT-PCR and can be performed twice as fast as RT-PCR methodologies. | Vancouver | Vancouver | No | Early phase | ||||||
| 7.888 | 4 | Augmented Discovery of Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease | Arterm Cherkasov | UBC | Biomedical | Potential drug therapies | BC-specific | CIHR | We have recently established a powerful Deep-Learning accelerated Docking pipeline to virtually screen a commercial 1.3-billion-compound library in a matter of one week--compared to the three years with previous programs. We have applied this novel algorithm to identify 1000 quality "candidate" compounds to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3CLpro) which is uniquely critical for the viral life cycle. We will screen these compounds with a high throughput screening biochemical assay and then evaluate these hits using a cell-based SARS-CoV-2 viral replication assay in a Canadian Containment Level 3 facilty at University of British Columbia. In addition we will use X-ray crystallography to refine the protease 3D crystal structure to accelerate the development of COVID-19 therapeutic drug development. Our research program will ... rapidly identifying small anti-viral drug molecules in an extremely condensed timeframe. | Vancouver | No | Early phase | |||||||||
| 7.889 | 5 | Host cellular protein substrates of SARS-CoV-2 proteases | Eric Jan | UBC | Biomedical | Potential drug therapies | BC-specific | CIHR | In this study, we will identify the host proteins that are targeted by a viral protein called a protease using an unbiased proteomics approach. Identifying the protein targets of SARS/MERS-CoV proteases will reveal into the protein sequence that binds to the proteases. We will engineer and optimize decoy protein sequences that will effectively block SARS/MERS-CoV protease function and thus, inhibit SARS/MERS-CoV infection. Uncovering the proteins that are targeted by the SARS/MERS-CoV proteases will also provide a catalog of the host processes that these viruses affect, thus gaining insights into the pathogenic mechanisms that lead to COVID-19 disease. | Not applicable | Early phase | ||||||||||
| 7.890 | 6 | Neutralizing human-derived single-chain antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 | Horacio Bach | UBC | Biomedical | Potential drug therapies | BC-specific | CIHR | The objectives of this application are 1) to develop antibodies that will block the entrance of the virus into the cells, and to test the efficacy of these antibodies in mice. | Vancouver | Not applicable | Early phase | |||||||||
| 7.891 | 7 | Rapid Response to Emerging Serious Pathogen Outbreaks using Next-gen Data: R2ESPOND | Natalie Anne Prystajecky | Mel Krajden, WIlliam Hsiao | UBC | Biomedical | Understanding more about the virus and its pathways of effects, Genetic influences on susceptibility | BC-specific | CIHR | We aim to use two types of next-generation data (next-gen genomics data and next-gen human data), along with a data integration tool called PLOVER 2.0, to answer these unknowns. The research team will 1)Carry out rapid genomic sequencing on patient samples to study the virus, how it spreads, how it evolves and predict which drugs will work 2)Develop knowledge of how the virus characteristics, along with a patient's previous health conditions, impact the severity of illness and how they recover from the illness 3)Develop a software tool (PLOVER 2.0) that will allow us to carry out this research and will also make the data viewable by key stakeholders such as Medical Health Officers. This work will not only generate critical knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 virus but will also help develop a better understanding of health outcomes for infected patients. The knowledge generated and tools developed by this research can ensure an evidence-based and cohesive response to this public health emergency, here in Canada and internationally. | Vancouver | Not applicable | Early phase | ||||||||
| 7.892 | 8 | Genomic epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of COVID-19 and other emerging corona viruses | Jeffrey Joy | UBC | Biomedical | Understanding more about the virus and its pathways of effects | BC-specific | CIHR | We will study the genomic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 to investigate if particular motifs are under selection for increased virulence and immune evasion. We will compare SARS-CoV-2 with genomes of other zoonotic coronaviruses to elucidate common genomic features associated with virulence, host switching, and human-to-human transmission. We will also evaluate spatiotemporal transmission patterns of SARS-CoV-2 across different populations using Bayesian phylogeographic analyses. | Vancouver | Not applicable | Early phase | |||||||||
| 7.893 | 9 | Understanding compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005):Â Recommended strategies | Kelley Lee | Robin Davies, Carmen Mihaela Dolea, Ryan Morhard, Karen Grepin, Adam Kamradt-Scott, Catherine Worsnop | Simon Fraser University | University of Sydney, University of Maryland, University of Hong Kong, World Health Organization, US CDC, World Economic Forum, Government of Australia - Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security, Government of Hong Kong | Population and public health | Development of public health measures in response to COVID-19 | Multi-provincial or multi-nati | CIHR Operating Grant: Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding Opportunity. | The goal of this project is to strengthen global coordination of the COVID-19 outbreak response through a fuller understanding of crossborder measures adopted, their likely positive/negative impacts, reason(s) for adoption, and strategies to increase compliance. This project applies a mixed-methods approach to achieve 4 objectives: a) define, categorize and track crossborder measures adopted during the COVID-19 and previous outbreaks; b) systematically review existing evidence of their public health and wider impacts; c) understand decisions to adopt compliant or non-compliant measures in 4 case study settings (Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and US); and d) identify strategies to encourage increased compliance. Working closely with key knowledge users, including WHO, we will collect and analyze new data, and combine it with our existing datasets to conduct real time quantitative cross-outbreak analysis. The key outcome of this project is to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 through practical, evidence-informed strategies that strengthen global coordination. | Interior, Vancouver | Not applicable | Early phase | 2020s0111 | ||||||
| 7.894 | 10 | Wuhan Interview: Human Experiences During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Wuhan | Yue Qian | Amy Hanser | UBC | Population and public health | Development of public health measures in response to COVID-19, Effects of stay-at-home and physical distancing measures, Effects on specific populations | BC-specific | CIHR: City shutdown as a response to COVID-19: understanding human experiences and mental health co | We will conduct interviews with 120 adults who lived in Wuhan during the quarantine to examine how people understood, reacted to, and coped with the quarantine, and what local barriers, challenges, and needs existed in combating the outbreak. This research will inform community service planning for post-pandemic recovery. | Vancouver | Not applicable | Early phase | H20-00917 | Adult | ||||||
| 7.895 | 11 | Digital Virtual Support of Cases and Contacts to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Readiness and Knowled | Richard T Lester | UBC | Health services & policy | Health system capacity, Responding to non-COVID-19 health care needs, Health care service effects for specific populations | BC-specific | CIHR | WelTel, an integrated virtual care and patient engagement solution, emerged as an innovation initially to support the global HIV pandemic through a Canadian-Kenyan partnership over a decade ago. Co-founded by the lead investigator and registered in British Columbia, WelTel has continued to integrate research into a richly featured virtual care platform that can be used on the frontlines of healthcare delivery. The study aims to: 1-Deploy and co-optimize WelTel to assist in home monitoring and support of COVID-19 cases and contacts; 2- Determine essential linkages and technical demands of the digital health ecosystem for data security purposes and integration into other electronic health records (EHR) & health information management systems (HIMS); 3-Evaluate communication and other metadata captured by the system for public health quality improvement to better understand and reduce barriers (such as stigma); 4-Use novel computing approaches such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to harness artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to model, predict, and provide insights into future precision public health approaches. | Vancouver | No | Early phase |
