Provincial investment boosts SFU’s research on optimizing uptake of new immune-based technologies

By Bridge Research Consortium staff

The Bridge Research Consortium (BRC), based in the Faculty of Health Sciences, has received over $422,000 from the BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF). The funding will support a unique Canadian collaboration of leading social sciences and humanities scholars. While Canada is poised to achieve rapid advances in technologies harnessing the immune system, to prevent and fight diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that greater attention must be paid to public acceptance and equitable access to these new technologies . 

The BRC received $14.6M in March 2024, as one of four projects funded by the Government of Canada as part of Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH), led by the University of British Columbia, and one of 19 projects funded under Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. The BRC will work with the CIEBH and other hubs across Canada to better understand and support strategies to tackle challenging issues such as mis/disinformation, public trust, and equity.

The project is co-led by Dr. Kelley Lee, Professor, Canada Research Chair Tier I in Global Health Governance, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Dr. Ève Dubé, Professor of Anthropology at Laval University. Lee says, “I’m very grateful to the Government of BC for this funding, which will help us to support our colleagues in the life sciences and bioengineering.  Scientists in Canada are advancing exciting new technologies that will transform medicine and health care in the near future. Our role is to ensure those technologies are aligned with the diverse populations and needs that make up Canadian society.”

Lee adds, “Our project is about building bridges across the therapeutic pipeline and immunization system so that populations and communities across Canada can optimally benefit from these new technologies.

Bridge Research Consortium Scholars

Learn more about how the BC Knowledge Development Fund is supporting other projects being undertaken by Canada's Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH).