A joint team of researchers from Canada's Sunnybrook Hospital, McMaster University and University of Toronto has reportedly isolated the virus responsible for causing COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus which has taken over the world. Dr Samira Mubareka from Sunnybrook Hospital, Dr Rob Kozak, Dr Arinjay Banerjee and Dr Karen Mossman, both from McMaster University, collaborated in the effort. Banerjee, a postdoctoral researcher and Michael G. DeGroote Fellow at the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR), had earlier said in an interview that he "hailed from India, but called Canada his home."
According to a press release by the Sunnybrook Hospital, the team was able to culture the virus from two clinical specimens in a Level 3 containment facility, which would tremendously assist in developing diagnostics, treatment and vaccines against the virus. “We need key tools to develop solutions to this pandemic. While the immediate response is crucial, longer-term solutions come from essential research into this novel virus,” said Mubareka.
“Researchers from these world-class institutions came together in a grassroots way to successfully isolate the virus in just a few short weeks,” said Kozak, according to the statement. “It demonstrates the amazing things that can happen when we collaborate.”
“Now that we have isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we can share this with other researchers and continue this teamwork,” said Banerjee. “The more viruses that are made available in this way, the more we can learn, collaborate and share.”
Banerjee's research, according to his profile, focuses on understanding host-pathogen interactions and the emergence of novel pathogens from wildlife. He has a background in virology, innate immunology, microbiology and biochemistry.
Banerjee completed his PhD in Microbiology from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, was a ZIBI scholarin Berlin, completed an externship at the University of Sydney in Australia. "My area of interest is emerging zoonotic viruses, and I am particularly intrigued by bats and their ability to control infection with viruses such as Ebola virus, Marburg virus, SARS and MERS coronaviruses, to name a few. I believe that we have a lot to learn from bats and that we may be able to harness some of this knowledge to identify therapeutic targets and/or strategies in humans and agricultural animals," he had told McMaster University in a statement.
