ONE EARTH ONE HEALTH WORKSHOP: Conclusion/Une planète une santé: Conclusion

Matthew W. Gilmour

Public Health Agency of Canada

Dr. Matthew Gilmour is the Scientific Director General of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (based in Winnipeg, Guelph, Lethbridge, St. Hyacinthe, and other satellite locations). These laboratories lead the national outbreak response and surveillance activities for infectious diseases, including those caused by respiratory and foodborne pathogens. The national programs for diagnostic and reference testing services and research reside at these laboratories, including for high-priority pathogens such as viral hemorrhagic fevers, arboviruses, tick-borne pathogens, sexually-transmitted infections and vaccine-preventable diseases.

Dr. Gilmour and his team innovated a whole genome sequencing approach that brings the power of whole genome sequencing to outbreak response activities. The first demonstration for the power of genomics came during the 2008 nationwide listeriosis outbreak, as this team is recognized as completing one of the first applications of whole-genome sequencing of a bacterial pathogen during the scope of a public health investigation. The transformative nature of genomics and other high-resolution technologies continue to be explored and implemented to improve diagnostic testing and epidemiological investigations.

Dr. Gilmour previously served as a Clinical Microbiologist with Diagnostic Services Manitoba based at the Health Sciences Centre, adjacent to the NML in Winnipeg, where he was the laboratory lead for Infection Prevention & Control, and he remains interested in the transmissibility of antibiotic resistant organisms.

Dr. Gilmour received his PhD at the University of Alberta under Dr. Diane Taylor, and his thesis work was awarded the Izaak Killam Memorial Scholarship, the Canadian Society of Microbiologist's Graduate Student Microbiologist of the Year Award, and the Governor General's Gold Medal. Dr. Gilmour is an Associate Editor with the Journal of Medical Microbiology and BMC Microbiology, and he also serves as Secretary-Treasurer for the Canadian Association for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (CACMID).