We are pleased to announce that Boehringer Ingelheim, a pharmaceutical company that supports research in the field of human as well as animal health, has awarded a one-year grant of $300,000 to Projet Laurent.
Projet Laurent, a Quebec-based "One Health" initiative, is a research program initiated and developed jointly by an interdisciplinary team, including patient partners, researchers in immunology, parasitology, epidemiology, kinesiology, anthropology, veterinary medicine and health professionals from various backgrounds. Projet Laurent also benefits from partnerships with several national and international organizations such as the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, the Canadian Liver Foundation, the Health Canada Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative, Wellness Together Canada, the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the World Transplant Games Federation.
They all come together and bring their expertise to a common vision, that of developing scientific knowledge to document the benefits of pets on healthy lifestyles and mental health, to assess the real risks of zoonoses - diseases transmitted from animals - for immunosuppressed patients and to develop strategies to minimize their transmission. Ultimately, the Projet Laurent team aims to disseminate this new knowledge by developing tools to inform human and animal health professionals, immunosuppressed individuals and the general public.
On behalf of the Projet Laurent team,
Hélène Tessier, Project initiator and Peer researcher
Sylvain Bédard, Patient-Partner, Center of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP)
Mélanie Dieudé, PhD, Researcher, CHUM Research Centre, Adjunct Professor, Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Director of Research Operations, Medical Affairs and Innovation, Héma-Québec, melanie.dieude@umontreal.ca
Christopher Fernandez-Prada, DMV, PhD, Researcher and Associate Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Université de Montréal, christopher.fernandez.prada@umontreal.ca
Isabelle Doré, PhD, Researcher, CHUM Research Centre, Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, isabelle.dore@umontreal.ca