Environment & Health Seminar: Bats and Coronaviruses: Using One Health to Prevent Pandemics

Arinjay Banerjee, Principal Investigator and Research Scientist at VIDO

Abstract: More than 70% of emerging human infections originate in animals. The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of studying ‘zoonotic’ viruses that emerge from wildlife to infect and spread amongst humans. This seminar will highlight the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health, and what we can learn by studying animals and their viruses, such as bats and coronaviruses to design effective countermeasures. His talk will also discuss the zoonotic and zooanthroponosis potentials of SARS-CoV-2, and its implications on human health as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on.

Brief Bio: Dr. Arinjay Banerjee, Ph.D. has studied bats and viruses, including coronaviruses for over 7 years. His research aims to understand how viral reservoirs, such as bats can co-exist with their viruses, while humans develop severe disease on infection. His research will help identify novel drugs and drug targets in humans against zoonotic viruses. Arinjay is currently an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University and is starting his own research group at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in April 2021, where they will continue to investigate emerging zoonotic viruses using a One Health framework.

Location: ONLINE. To register for this event, please open the Eventbrite page.