Previous CITF Governance Structures & Members

We wish to thank all Executive Committee, Working Party, Leadership Group and Indigenous Advisory Circle members for their tireless volunteerism, spending countless hours steering the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF) to help Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) was the highest decision-making body within the CITF. It was established to ensure due diligence, strategic alignment, and value-for-money in the CITF’s research practices, as well as the appropriate management of Conflicts of Interest (COI) when all CITF funding recommendations were being made. The mandate of the EC concluded on December 31, 2022. The EC comprised the CITF co-Chairs, the CITF Executive Director, six rotating members from the CITF Leadership Group (LG), and ex-officio membership from PHAC. Membership was conditional on neither seeking, nor holding, CITF support either as a Principal Investigator (PI) or a Co-Investigator.

Photo of David Naylor

David Naylor

Co-chair

Professor of Medicine and President Emeritus, University of Toronto

Catherine Hankins

Co-chair

Professor of Public and Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University

Photo of Timothy Evans

Timothy Evans

Executive Director

Professor, Inaugural Director and Associate Dean of McGill University’s School of Population and Global Health (SPGH) and Associate Vice-Principal (Global Policy and Innovation), McGill University

Members

Photo of Mona Nemer

Mona Nemer

Chief Science Advisor of Canada

Photo of Gina Ogilvie

Gina Ogilvie

Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Senior Public Health Scientist, BC Centre for Disease Control

Associate Director, Women’s Health Research Institute

Photo of Jutta Preiksaitis

Jutta Preiksaitis

Professor Emerita of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alberta

Gail Tomblin Murphy

Gail Tomblin Murphy

Nova Scotia

Vice President of Research, Innovation & Discovery

Chief Nurse Executive of the Nova Scotia Health Authority

Photo of Paul Van Caeseele

Paul Van Caeseele

Manitoba

Medical Director, Cadham Provincial Laboratory, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living

Professor, Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, and Pediatrics & Child Health, University of Manitoba

Photo of Sarah Viehbeck

Sarah Viehbeck

Chief Science Officer, Public Health Agency of Canada

Working Parties

To fulfill its mandate, the CITF developed a scientific strategy focused initially on three priorities: serosurveillance, immune science, and serologic testing. In consequence, the CITF LG formed three corresponding Working Parties (WPs), the focus of which evolved over the course of the pandemic, as they adapted to emerging needs and challenges. The final iteration of the CITF WPs was: Field Studies, Vaccine Surveillance, and Immune Science and Testing. All three WPs concluded their mandate on December 31, 2022.

Field Studies Working Party

The Field Studies Working Party (FSWP) focused on research related to COVID-19 public health, surveillance, epidemiology, and modelling in Canada. Members were chosen from across Canada based on their expertise in the aforementioned areas or other relevant disciplines.

Working Party leads

Photo of James Kellner

James D. Kellner

Pediatric Infectious Disease Consultant

Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Community Health Sciences & Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services

Photo of Gina Ogilvie

Gina Ogilvie

Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Senior Public Health Scientist, BC Centre for Disease Control

Associate Director, Women’s Health Research Institute

Vaccine Surveillance Working Party

The Vaccine Surveillance Working (VSWP) focused on research related to the safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada. Members were chosen from across Canada based on their expertise in the areas of infectious diseases, vaccinology, immunology, epidemiology, public health, and other relevant disciplines.

Working Party leads

Shelly Bolotin

Ontario

Scientist, Health Protection, Public Health Ontario

Photo of Scott Halperin

Scott Halperin

Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University

Principal Investigator, Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN)

Immune Science and Testing Working Party

The Immune Science and Testing Working Party (ISTWP) focused on research related to COVID-19 immune science and antibody testing in Canada. Members were chosen from across Canada based on their expertise in the areas of immunology, infectious diseases, laboratory medicine (testing), and other relevant disciplines.

Working Party leads

Charu Kaushic

Charu Kaushic

Scientific Director, CIHR-Institute of Infection and Immunity

Professor, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University

Photo of Mel Krajden

Mel Krajden

Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia

Medical Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory

Leadership Group

The Leadership Group (LG) acted as the CITF’s primary strategic advisory body, drawing on its diverse technical and jurisdictionally representative leadership from across Canada and within the federal government. Its membership included experts in matters related to serologic surveillance, immunology, virology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, public health, and clinical medicine. It also included ex-officio members representing agencies of the Government of Canada, specifically, PHAC, Health Canada, and the Office of the Chief Science Advisor. Representatives of provincial-territorial ministries of health and public health units, and McGill University (Secretariat host) were also core members of the LG.

The CITF Leadership Group played an active role in the leadership of the CITF from the Task Force’s inception in April 2020 and concluded activities in June 2022. An enormous amount of gratitude goes to all LG members for their tireless volunteerism, spending countless hours steering the CITF to help Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Government of Canada representatives

Photo of Theresa Tam

Theresa Tam

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada

Photo of Mona Nemer

Mona Nemer

Chief Science Advisor of Canada

Stephen Lucas

Stephen Lucas

Deputy Minister of Health, Canada

Leadership Group members

Photo of VIvek Goel

Vivek Goel

President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo

Philippe Gros

Philippe Gros

Deputy Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation &
Professor, Department of Biochemistry, McGill University

Photo of Scott Halperin

Scott Halperin

Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University

Principal Investigator, Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN)

Charu Kaushic

Charu Kaushic

Scientific Director, CIHR-Institute of Infection and Immunity

Professor, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University

Photo of James Kellner

James D. Kellner

Pediatric Infectious Disease Consultant

Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Community Health Sciences & Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services

Photo of Susan Kirkland

Susan Kirkland

Professor and Head, Department of Community Health & Epidemiology and Division of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University / Nova Scotia Health Authority

Photo of Gary Kobinger

Gary Kobinger

Professor and Director, Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Department of Microbiology-Infectiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval

Photo of Mel Krajden

Mel Krajden

Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia

Medical Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory

Christie Lutsiak

Director, Health Innovation Partnerships & Strategy, Alberta Health

Photo of Richard Massé

Richard Massé

Special Advisor to the Government of Quebec (public health, epidemiology)

Photo of Allison McGeer

Allison McGeer

Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto

Photo of Deborah Money

Deborah Money

Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Clinician Scientist, Women’s Health Research Institute

Photo of Gina Ogilvie

Gina Ogilvie

Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Senior Public Health Scientist, BC Centre for Disease Control

Associate Director, Women’s Health Research Institute

Photo of Jutta Preiksaitis

Jutta Preiksaitis

Professor Emerita of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alberta

Gail Tomblin Murphy

Gail Tomblin Murphy

Vice President of Research, Innovation & Discovery

Chief Nurse Executive, Nova Scotia Health Authority

Photo of Paul Van Caeseele

Paul Van Caeseele

Medical Director, Cadham Provincial Laboratory, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living

Professor, Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, and Pediatrics & Child Health, University of Manitoba

Provincial & Territorial representatives

Shelly Bolotin

Ontario

Scientist, Health Protection, Public Health Ontario

Marguerite Cameron

Prince Edward Island

Provincial Epidemiologist, PEI Health and Wellness, Chief Public Health Office, Population Health Assessment and Surveillance

Catherine Elliott

Yukon

Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health, Yukon

Richard Garceau

Richard Garceau

New Brunswick

Microbiologist – Infectious diseases, Microbiology Laboratory Dr. Georges L Dumont University Hospital Centre

Heather Hannah

Northwest Territories

Territorial Epidemiologist

Manager of the Epidemiologist and Surveillance Unit, Northwest Territories

Photo of Mel Krajden

Mel Krajden

British Columbia

Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia

Medical Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control Public Health Laboratory

Christie Lutsiak

Alberta

Director, Health Innovation Partnerships & Strategy, Alberta Health

Photo of Richard Massé

Richard Massé

Quebec

Special Advisor to the Government of Quebec (public health, epidemiology)

Jessica Minion

Jessica Minion

Saskatchewan

Laboratory Medicine & Infection Prevention and Control, Regina, Saskatchewan Health Authority

Michael Patterson

Nunavut

Chief Public Health Officer, Nunavut

Proton Rahman

Newfoundland

Clinician Scientist and Professor, Memorial University and Staff Rheumatologist, Eastern Health

Gail Tomblin Murphy

Gail Tomblin Murphy

Nova Scotia

Vice President of Research, Innovation & Discovery

Chief Nurse Executive of the Nova Scotia Health Authority

Photo of Paul Van Caeseele

Paul Van Caeseele

Manitoba

Medical Director, Cadham Provincial Laboratory, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living

Professor, Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, and Pediatrics & Child Health, University of Manitoba

Indigenous Advisory Circle

The work of the Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC) was initiated in 2020 and formally came to a conclusion in 2021. All members’ efforts and contributions were greatly appreciated. As results from CITF-supported studies emerged bearing on Indigenous communities, the CITF continued to make efforts to engage Indigenous policy, community, and scientific leaders in discussion of their implications.