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Robert C. Brunham

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Robert C. Brunham
Born
Creston, British Columbia, Canada
Academic background
EducationBSc, MD, 1972, University of British Columbia
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of British Columbia
British Columbia Centre for Disease Control
University of Manitoba

Robert Conrad Brunham FRSC OBC is a Canadian infectious disease specialist. He is the former Director of the UBC Centre for Disease Control and executive director and Scientific Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.

Early life and education

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Brunham was born and raised in Creston, British Columbia, Canada where he completed his undergraduate and medical degree at the University of British Columbia (UBC).[1] Following this, he trained under King Holmes at the University of Washington before becoming a physician scientist at the University of Manitoba.[2]

Career

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While working at the University of Manitoba, Brunham led their adult infectious disease program and became their Chair of Microbiology in 1987. In these roles, he focused his laboratory on addressing basic issues in chlamydial pathogenesis and host response.[1] During the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, Brunham led efforts to treat Manitobans suffering from the disease.[3] He also was one of the first researchers to report on the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia.[4] As a result of this discovery, he established a chlamydia laboratory and focused on becoming an independent chlamydial biologist.[1] As a result of his research and academic success, Brunham was elected a Member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1991.[5]

Brunham returned to his home province in 1999 to become the Academic Director of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).[1] At the BCCDC, he used the provincial databases to track the impact of Chlamydia control efforts on transmission dynamics and chronic infection sequelae, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility.[2] Brunham also led British Columbia's tactical and strategic response during the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak which included the testing and developing of a SARS vaccine.[6][7] In recognition of his co-leadership in the SARS Accelerated Vaccine Initiative, Brunham was also the co-recipient of the 2005 Canadian Institutes of Health Research Partnership Award.[8]

Following the SARS outbreak, Brunham was amongst the first adopters of genomics technologies in public health which he demonstrated during a local tuberculosis outbreak.[9][10] He also led an effort to sequence several hundred pandemic H1N1 genomes to explore viral evolutionary dynamics in the context of a pandemic at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[11] As a result of his efforts, Brunham was elected a Member of the Order of British Columbia.[10] Brunham stepped down from his role as Executive and Scientific Director of the BCCDC in 2014 to oversee the Vaccine Research Laboratory at the UBC Centre for Disease Control. Upon leaving his position, Brunham was awarded the Dr. Don Rix Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions during the HIV/AIDS and SARS pandemics.[12] The following year, he was also named a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.[13]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brunham was appointed to sit on the Government of Canada's COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force to ensure the purchase, distribution and delivery of a safe and effective vaccine.[14] He also collaborated with Natalie Strynadka on a project aimed at predicting changes to SARS-CoV-2.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "From the ASTDA". Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 32 (12): 721. December 2005. doi:10.1097/01.olq.0000190016.00241.56. S2CID 220555257. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "PHEMI Life Sciences BC Emerging Company of the Year". PHEMI Systems. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  3. ^ Coyne, Andrew (August 15, 1983). "Aids forum aims to calm fears". The Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Researchers warn of little-known VD". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 7, 1981. Retrieved January 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Robert Conrad Brunham, MD". American Society for Clinical Investigation. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "PROVINCE FUNDS ACCELERATED SARS VACCINE PROJECT". Ministry of Health Services. April 29, 2003. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  7. ^ Kondro, W. (January 20, 2004). "Canadian researchers testing SARS vaccine in China". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 170 (2): 183. PMC 315515. PMID 14734423.
  8. ^ "Partnership Profile: 2005 CIHR Partnership Award Winner". Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 18 June 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Gardy, J. L.; Johnston, J. C.; Ho Sui, S. J.; Cook, V. J.; Shah, L.; Brodkin, E.; Rempel, S.; Moore, R.; Zhao, Y.; Holt, R.; Varhol, R.; Birol, I.; Lem, M.; Sharma, M. K.; Elwood, K.; Jones, S. J.; Brinkman, F. S.; Brunham, R. C.; Tang, P. (February 24, 2011). "Whole-genome sequencing and social-network analysis of a tuberculosis outbreak". The New England Journal of Medicine. 364 (8): 730–739. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1003176. PMID 21345102.
  10. ^ a b "2010 Recipient: Dr. Robert Conrad Brunham – Vancouver". Government of British Columbia. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "Genomic surveillance of pandemic H1N1". Eureka Alert. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  12. ^ "Faculty members receive LifeSciences BC Awards". University of British Columbia. March 18, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dr Robert Brunham Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada". BCCDC Foundation for Population and Public Health. 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  14. ^ MacCharles, Tonda (November 10, 2020). "With a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, Ottawa's next challenge will be getting it to 38 million Canadians". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  15. ^ "Predicting the evolution of COVID-19 to help manage future outbreaks". University of British Columbia. June 5, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
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