VANCOUVER, BC Tuesday 31 March 2020 – Dr. Jeffrey Joy, senior research scientist with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and assistant professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, is leading a team of researchers in the fight against COVID-19. As of today, COVID-19 has claimed more than 40,000 lives globally, and at least 823,000 people have been infected.
Dr. Joy specializes in evolutionary genetics, molecular epidemiology and bioinformatics at the BC-CfE. Dr. Joy, utilizing his extensive experience in the implementation of the BC-CfE Treatment as Prevention¨ strategy for HIV, thus reducing numbers of new infections, is uniquely positioned to play a key role in the fight against COVID-19.
Using a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research along with support and resources provided by the BC-CfE, Dr. Joy and his team are studying the genomic evolution of COVID-19. The scientists working with Dr. Joy join teams around the world working to contain the current pandemic. By studying the available genomes, Dr. Joy’s team can compare them with the genomes of other coronaviruses to determine common features and evaluate patterns of viral spread.
The fight against the spread of COVID-19 is an international collaborative effort, with Dr. Joy and BC-CfE researchers working closely with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control. as well as other Canadian teams. It’s hoped this close collaboration will not only allow for a better assessment of the origins of the disease, it will also help exert control and, ultimately, elimination of the current, and future, coronavirus outbreaks.
We are grateful to the federal government for this emergency funding, which is enabling researchers at the BC-CfE, UBC and across Canada to help find solutions to this urgent crisis – Dr. Joy
About the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility – nationally and internationally recognized as an innovative world leader in combating HIV/AIDS and related diseases. The made-in-BC Treatment as Prevention¨â€¯strategy (TasP¨ ) pioneered by BC-CfE, and supported by UNAIDS since 2011, inspired the ambitious global target for HIV treatment – known as the 90-90-90 Target – to end AIDS as a pandemic by 2030. The BC-CfE is applying TasP¨  to therapeutic areas beyond HIV/AIDS, including viral hepatitis and addiction™, to promote Targeted Disease Elimination¨  as a means to contribute to healthcare sustainability. The BC-CfE works in close collaboration with key stakeholders, including government, health authorities, health care providers, academics, and the community to decrease the health burden of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and addictions across Canada and around the world.
For more information, please contact:
BC-CfE Communications Coordinator Edmond Chu
Cell: 236-885-4617
Email: echu@bccfe.ca