-An introduction to the Bridge Research Consortium: Insights into social and behavioural factors that may hinder optimal uptake of new vaccines and immunotherapies during a public health emergency.

Funded by the Canada Biomedical Research Fund to support Canada’s Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy, and part of Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub (CIEBH), the Bridge Research Consortium (BRC) is a multidisciplinary team of leading social sciences and humanities scholars from across Canada and beyond. The mission of the Bridge Research Consortium is to bring together diverse expertise and perspectives to better understand—and support—public trust in, and equitable access to, new vaccines and immune-based innovations that will strengthen Canada’s readiness for future pandemic events. This talk will introduce the work of the BRC, with a focus on serving as a social and behavioural barometer—surfacing emerging issues, shifting trends, and public concerns that may influence the uptake of new vaccines and immunotherapies. Through people-centred insights, the BRC helps illuminate societal factors shaping Canada’s vaccine and immunotherapies landscape. Learning Objectives: Understand current knowledge, attitudes and practices related to new vaccines and immunotherapies among adults including high-priority groups in Canada. Identify themes, trends and potential mis/disinformation emerging on social media platforms related to highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1). Support a high-quality information environment including actionable strategies to prevent or mitigate online abuse of health communicators. Speaker Bios Dr. Kelley Lee (BRC Scientific Co-Director). Dr. Lee is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Health Governance in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University. She was previously Professor of Global Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where she co-directed the WHO Collaborating Centre on Global Change and Health. Her current leadership roles include co-chairing a Royal Society of Canada-Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Expert Panel on Canada's Role in Global Health; and Commissioner on the National University of Singapore-Lancet PRIME Commission. She is a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and Royal Society of Canada. She has published 15 books, 250+ papers and 70 book chapters, including co-editing the Oxford Handbook of Global Health Politics. Dr. Heidi Tworek (BRC, Lead Scholar). Dr. Heidi Tworek is a Canada Research Chair and associate professor of international history and public policy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. She is an award-winning researcher of media, history, health communications, international organizations, and platform governance. She directs the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at UBC. She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation as well as a non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. She co-edits the Journal of Global History. Dr. Rackeb Tesfaye (BRC, Knowledge Mobilization Lead and Senior Scientist). Dr. Rackeb Tesfaye holds a PhD in Neuroscience from McGill University. She has led patient-oriented research involving youth, families, clinicians, and bioethicists to inform health policy and education. As a Visiting Doctoral Scholar at the University of Oxford, she supported global neuropsychiatric studies using mixed-methods approaches. Dr. Tesfaye has held various knowledge mobilization roles, from translating pandemic-related research at Simon Fraser University to coordinating research-community partnerships that expand evidence-based autism care in Quebec. With over a decade of science communication experience, she has been a lecturer at McGill University, a CBC Radio columnist, and a co-founder of initiatives like ComSciCon Canada and BlackInNeuro. She has also advised organizations like Canada’s Chief Scientist’s Youth Council, Falling Walls, and The Kavli Foundation.

Mediasite Presenter

5/1/2025 7:00:00 PM