A new research chair to understand, diagnose and treat Lyme disease and other emerging infections

In collaboration with the Fondation de l'Université de Sherbrooke, the CHUS Foundation is proud to contribute to the creation of the new Research Chair on Lyme Disease and Emerging Infections: a key research project to find solutions and improve the quality of care offered to the population of our region.

Led by Dr. Alex Carignan, a research professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke and a microbiologist-infectiologist at the CIUSSS de l'Estrie — CHUS, the chair aims to improve knowledge on the epidemiology and management of Lyme disease and other emerging infections in Quebec.

“With global warming, we are increasingly seeing tick populations migrate from the United States to our homes, bringing with them new diseases and infections, including Lyme disease. With the research chair, we want to improve knowledge on tick-borne infections in order to be much more proactive in the face of new infections that will arrive in the coming years.” - Dr. Alex Carignan

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In addition to contributing to the advancement of research, Dr. Alex Carignan also wants to increase the awareness of the general public and the medical profession, in order to allow more rapid detection of cases of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections, and thus improve their management. In this sense, Dr. Alex Carignan will lead a Conference open to the public on June 11. The latter will cover a wide range of topics, from the origin of these diseases to the preventive measures to be taken in the event of a tick bite, thus offering a comprehensive exploration of this new plague.

“We are lucky here in Sherbrooke. We have an incredible center of expertise, whether at the level of CRCHUS, our research center, but also at the level of all the researchers who are involved here, locally. We need to help these people achieve and reach their goals, and that's what we tried to do with Dr. Carignan, who is an authority in the field.” - Martin Clermont, Executive Director of the CHUS Foundation

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