Development and implementation of a genomic sequencing workflow to enhance laboratory diagnostics and routine reporting of respiratory viruses

Respiratory diseases caused by viruses that are frequently evolving have placed significant strains on Canadian healthcare systems. Traditional methods of diagnostics can detect the presence of viruses in clinical specimens
but do not always distinguish them at the variant level. Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is a high throughput technique that is used to determine the genetic sequence of viruses. Many laboratories in Ontario do not
perform ongoing NGS for viruses other than SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, analyzing NGS results may be complicated or inaccessible. Therefore, our goal is to develop a validated NGS workflow for common respiratory
viruses such as RSV that will allow for accessible analyses, interpretation, and reporting of key molecular epidemiological information such as virus evolution, variant prevalence, treatment effectiveness, and outbreak
patterns. Overall, this workflow will enable systematic tracking of evolutionary patterns and mutational changes of circulating viruses which are essential for viral surveillance, vaccine, and therapeutic development. The
outcome of this work will equip labs with tools to alleviate the strain that respiratory virus surges place on Canada’s healthcare system.

Faculty Supervisor:

Samira Mubareka;Venkata Duvvuri

Student:

Partner:

Shared Hospital Laboratory

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Toronto

Program: