Caroline Quach-Thanh
Born (1972-03-15) March 15, 1972
OccupationResearcher

Caroline Quach-Thanh OQ (born March 15, 1972) is a Canadian pediatric microbiologist, epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist. She is a professor in the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine[1] and Medical Lead in the Infection Prevention and Control Unit at CHU Sainte-Justine.[2] She served as the Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and oversaw the approval process of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.[3][4]

Background

Born March 15, 1972,[5] Caroline Quach-Thanh completed medical school in 1995, and a residency in pediatrics in 1998 at the University of Montréal. She then pursued her post-doctoral studies in pediatric infections and microbiology (2002), the a Master's degree in Epidemiology (2003) at McGill University.[6] She is a Merit Seeker Research Chair under Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé.[7]

Career

Quach-Thanh served as Chair of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (AMMI) Canada from 2014-2016.[1] She served as Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) from 2018 to 2021, having first served as a member and then Vice-Chair since 2017,[8] as well as the Québec Immunization Committee at l'Institut national de santé publique du Québec.[9] In this role, she has spoken publicly against “vaccine disinformation” and has described vaccination as a collective responsibility.[10][11] She was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), serving as a liaison representative on behalf of NACI.[12]

She is also a member of the INSPQ’s Québec Immunization Committee, including having served as Chair from March 2015 to June 2019.[13]

Quach-Thanh co-delivered a presentation alongside NACI executive secretary Matthew Tunis at the 2018 Canadian Immunization Conference titled "What's new at NACI?", discussing the expansion of NACI's roles and responsibilities.[14][15]

Quach-Thanh has donated at least $50,000 to the Sainte Justine Children's Hospital Foundation.[16]

She previously served as Medical Director of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Vaccine Study Centre, a clinical research program that had (at the time) ran “over 75” studies in vaccines and epidemiology.[17]

COVID-19

In response to criticism and confusion following NACI’s recommendations (such as its changing guidance on the AstraZeneca product), she admitted that the council’s members were exhausted from the totality of their workload.[18]

The Collège des médecins du Québec applauded Dr. Quach-Thanh for her contributions to Québec's health care system and for her work for the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Quach’s colleague at the University of Montreal, Daniel Jutras, praised her for the “some 700 interviews” she delivered during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Quach-Thanh is a member of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, serving as Chair of the Vaccine Safety Reference Group.[21] After concluding her role at NACI, she participated in a study for the task force evaluating effects of COVID-19 vaccines in children. The Government of Canada provided approximately $1.8 million in funding for the study.[22]

On October 18, 2021, Quach-Thanh was quoted in a press release stating that PCR testing should be used in a school setting for asymptomatic students due to their relative sensitivity, whereas rapid antigen tests should be reserved for children displaying symptoms.[23]

Research

Quach-Thanh's research interests surround infection prevention, particularly hospital-acquired infections and vaccine-preventable diseases. She has published over 100 scientific articles in the PubMed database.[24]

She also contributes to around fifteen epidemiological reports from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.[25] She has also written several chapters in books on pediatric infections,[26][27] as well as pharmacology.[28]

Her expertise is regularly called on to share important information on new outbreaks of pathogens,[29] and vaccination.[30][31][32]

Influenza

In 2020, she received a $2.1 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to study the risk of reinfection from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, among health care workers.[33]

Quach-Thanh was awarded the Canada Research Chair in Infection Prevention and Control on November 1, 2020.[34] The focus of her project, “from Hospital to Community”, is minimizing healthcare-associated infections as well as evaluating the risks and benefits of vaccine regimens. She was awarded $1,400,000 for the period of November 1, 2020 - October 31, 2027 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council under the Canada Research Chairs Program.[35]

Accolades

In 2014, Quach-Thanh received an award for excellence in research from the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, under sponsorship by Pfizer.[36] In 2016, she was awarded the John Embil Mentorship Award in Infectious Diseases by the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases.[37]

She was recognized in 2019 and 2020 among Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100, in the Manulife-sponsored category of science and technology.[38][39]

References

  1. 1 2 "Caroline Quach - Département de microbiologie, infectiologie et immunologie - Université de Montréal". Département de microbiologie, infectiologie et immunologie (in French). Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  2. ↑ "Biographie - Caroline Quach-Thanh, M.D., FRCPC, M.Sc". CHU Sainte-Justine (in French). Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  3. ↑ Health Canada. "Comirnaty (tozinameran)". COVID-19 vaccines and treatments portal. Archived from the original on 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  4. ↑ "National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI): Membership and representation". Government of Canada. 2021-01-18. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  5. ↑ "France Castel, Geneviève Guilbault, Angèle, Dr Caroline Quach, Élise Brunot et Kim Clavel". Deux hommes en or et Rosalie (in Canadian French). 2022-03-11. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  6. ↑ ORCID. "Caroline Quach (0000-0002-1170-9475)". orcid.org. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  7. ↑ "Fonds Santé - Prévenir les infections: à l'hôpital et dans la communauté". www.frqs.gouv.qc.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  8. ↑ Jean-Benoit Legault (2021-06-12). "Présidence du CCNI | " J'ai eu du plaisir ", affirme Caroline Quach". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  9. ↑ "Auteurs et collaborateurs - Informations générales - Professionnels de la santé - MSSS". www.msss.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  10. ↑ "Vaccination : démêler le vrai du faux". Radio-Canada. 2019-04-24. Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  11. ↑ "Un vaccin contre la désinformation? Dre Ève Dubé à Tout le monde en parle". INSPQ. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  12. ↑ "ACIP Current Membership Roster". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2021-02-05. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2022-04-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ↑ "Comité sur l'immunisation du Québec (CIQ)". INSPQ (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  14. ↑ "CIC 2018 Final Program" (PDF). Canadian Immunization Conference. November 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  15. ↑ Quach, Caroline (2018-12-05). "What's new with NACI?" (PDF). Canadian Immunization Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  16. ↑ "CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation - Donor List - Annual Report 2020‑2021". CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation - Donor List - Annual Report 2020‑2021. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  17. ↑ "About Us – MUHC Vaccine Study Centre". 2020-07-23. Archived from the original on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  18. ↑ Aiello, Rachel (2021-03-20). "NACI chair responds to criticism, notes months left in her mandate". CTVNews. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  19. ↑ UdeM Nouvelles (2022-01-14). "Trois professeurs de l'UdeM récompensés par le Collège des médecins du Québec". nouvelles.umontreal.ca (in French). Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  20. ↑ Jutras, Daniel (2021-05-11). "Opinion: Scientists who are great communicators must be recognized and respected". CTV News Montreal. Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  21. ↑ "Vaccine surveillance Reference group (VSRG)". COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  22. ↑ "New study to monitor COVID-19 illness and vaccine safety, effectiveness in children and youth in Canada". Research Centre of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital. 2021-06-11. Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  23. ↑ "CHU Sainte-Justine's study confirms the relevance of rapid testing in Quebec schools". Research Centre of the Sainte-Justine University Hospital. 2021-10-18. Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  24. ↑ "Quach, Caroline[Author] - Search Results". PubMed. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  25. ↑ "Caroline Quach - Publications". INSPQ (in French). Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  26. ↑ Bryant, Kristina A.; Guzman-Cottrill, Judith A. (2019). Handbook of pediatric infection prevention and control. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-19-069718-1. OCLC 1090397130. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  27. ↑ Shah, Samir S.; Ratner; Kemper (2018). Pediatric infectious diseases. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 736. ISBN 978-0-323-40181-4. OCLC 1021064507. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  28. ↑ Du Souich, Patrick; Beaulieu, Pierre; Pichette, Vincent; Desroches, Julie (2015). Précis de pharmacologie. Montréal: Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal. ISBN 978-2-7606-3453-4. OCLC 936558326. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  29. ↑ "Cinq experts répondent à cinq questions sur le coronavirus chinois". Le Devoir (in French). 24 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  30. ↑ "Être infecté par la rougeole efface la mémoire du système immunitaire". Le Devoir (in French). November 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  31. ↑ "Les dangers de la vaccination alternative". La Presse (in French). 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  32. ↑ "Non, il n'y a pas de lien entre vaccin et autisme". ici.radio-canada.ca (in French). 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  33. ↑ Jean-Benoit Legault (2020-06-25). "Deux chercheuses de Sainte-Justine reçoivent 6,3 millions pour étudier la COVID-19". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  34. ↑ Government of Canada, Chaire de recherche du Canada (2019-04-17). "Caroline Quach-Thanh". www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  35. ↑ Secretariat, Treasury Board of Canada. "Grants and Contribution Record | Canada Research Chairs | Open Government". Grants and Contribitions. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  36. ↑ "Édition spéciale : Les gagnants des Prix d'Excellence 2014" (PDF). Montreal Children's Hospital. 2014-05-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  37. ↑ "2016 Embil Mentorship Award: Dr. Caroline Quach". Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases. 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  38. ↑ Executive; Women, Executive (2019-11-20). "Sponsored: Manulife Science & Technology Awards | Financial Post". Financial Post. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  39. ↑ "Caroline Quach-Thanh parmi les 100 femmes les plus influentes du Canada". nouvelles.umontreal.ca (in French). 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
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