UdeM, leader of One Health from yesterday to tomorrow

At a time when health, environmental and social crises are more interrelated than ever, fragmented offensives to address the health of humans, animals and the environment are no longer enough to ensure sustainable well-being.

The One Health (USS) approach has become an essential lever for meeting current and future challenges, such as the multiplication of zoonoses, the rise of antibiotic resistance, food insecurity, climate change and loss of biodiversity.

Since the early 2000s, in Canada, the conceptualization of the interdependence between human, animal and environmental health has gained momentum. This need mobilizes all research and training stakeholders, governments, industries and civil society.

And the University of Montreal is particularly active in this regard through renowned expertise in research, training and innovation.

An anchored institutional support

For several years, the intersectoral and inclusive One Health concept has been a driving force that guides decisions in research, teaching and partnerships among members of the UdeM community. This desire comes from the research teams, but also from the bodies that support them in their mobilization.

“We cannot aspire to individual or even collective human health if we do not take care of the environment that we share with animals and plants,” says Marie-Josée Hébert, vice-rector for research. , to the discovery, creation and innovation of the University of Montreal. And at the University, implementation takes place according to a virtuous circle: we benefit from the energy and know-how of all of our research teams and, for our part, we make sure to create opportunities to gather their thoughts and put in place the structures necessary for their most ambitious aspirations.”

“There is a strong connection between researchers who understand the importance of uniting to better respond and act in the face of major societal issues, and the One Health Initiative aims precisely to facilitate intersectoral dialogues,” adds Luc Stafford, associate vice-rector for research, who co-directs the Initiative with Julie Carrier, associate vice-rector for graduate and postdoctoral studies.

In fact, the vice-rectorate teams are continuing their efforts to establish mechanisms promoting exchanges, collaborations and data sharing between the different sectors. And from this desire many innovative projects were born.

A mentality that is embodied by structuring projects

Beyond the concept, the USS approach materializes in very concrete successes. We can mention the PARCS en santé project, led by Professor Cécile Aenishaenslin, which aims to protect both human health and the health of ecosystems in peri-urban natural parks in the Montreal, Montérégie and Estrie regions.

Or even Précrisa, a research network financed by the Quebec Research Funds, born from a collaboration between the University of Quebec at Rimouski, the University of Montreal and partner citizens, whose objective is in particular to better equip ourselves to face emerging threats likely to cause new health crises.

The University of Montreal hosts two Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) which are part of a USS approach: the CERC One Urban Health, led by Professor Evelyne De Leeuw, and the CERC Eco-Evo-Patho microbes in nature, under the direction of Professor Frédérique Le Roux. The first explores governance mechanisms and power issues within urban projects, while the second studies innovative solutions to curb the rise of antibiotic resistance.

Funded by Global Affairs Canada, the ELUZO project, bringing together a large consortium of partners in Canada and West Africa headed by the University of Montreal, is also part of a USS perspective. It mobilizes women farmers to strengthen their capacity to fight zoonoses in rural communities in Senegal and Burkina Faso.

Several centers and research groups at the University of Montreal also rely on the USS approach, notably the Public Health Research Center and the Research Group in Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Public Health.

This commitment to the One Health approach is also the work of mobilized students. The Student Club for One Health at the University of Montreal (Club USS), created by and for the student community, is one of the main examples of this. Today, the USS Club actively participates in the co-construction of the Gaïa Circle of UdeM, which rallies and supports the next generation of students around projects promoting the socio-ecological transition through the USS approach.

“One of the great strengths of the USS approach at UdeM is its ability to mobilize expertise from all faculties. This diversity allows for the creation of unique synergies that are essential to address multidimensional challenges and create innovative and interdisciplinary solutions that overall enrich the scope of each project,” says Luc Stafford.

Leadership that goes beyond the borders of UdeM

Marie-Josée Hébert and Luc Stafford are unanimous: to fully operationalize the USS strategy, we must, of course, bring together all the disciplines, but also break down the barriers between organizations.

“The playing field is much larger than the University of Montreal. If you want to have an influence on a global scale, you have to be ready to get out of your little garden,” illustrates the vice-rector.

With this aim, Luc Stafford and his team are working to forge links between the University of Montreal and other Canadian universities, notably those of Calgary, Guelph and Saskatchewan in partnership with government agencies, including the Canadian Agency Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The goal: to build a national strategy relating to the One Health approach with a view to producing the tools to anchor it in Canadian realities.

A future to build

With recognized expertise in zoonoses, antibiotic resistance, biodiversity, emerging contaminants, food systems, ethics, landscape architecture and artificial intelligence, UdeM benefits from a unique One Health ecosystem.

This concentration of knowledge will allow the birth of several other projects, such as the upcoming creation of a doctoral program which will involve eight faculties. Unheard of at UdeM, but also in Canada.

Locally, it is the development of the campuses themselves that will continue to take into account the USS perspective: building sustainable and inclusive places that promote the health of individuals and the preservation of biodiversity.

“The University of Montreal has very strong leadership, but this is only the beginning of a movement,” concludes Marie-Josée Hébert.

A panel not to be missed

On November 22, the panel “Towards a national One Health strategy for Canada” will be held, presented at the Canadian Science Policy Conference in Ottawa.

Organized by the One Health Initiative, this meeting will constitute a key step in the development of a cohesive national strategy in collaboration with the universities of Calgary, Saskatchewan and Guelph. Moderated by Marie-Josée Hébert, the panel will bring together university leaders and government agencies engaged in this approach:

• William Ghali, vice-president of research at the University of Calgary;
• Katherine Frohlich, professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal and scientific director of the Institute of Population and Public Health of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research;
• David Nanang, vice-president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency;
• Nicholas Ogden, director at the Public Health Agency of Canada.

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