Jan-2021
McMaster Centre of Excellence receives $1.2M to advance Canadian-made PPE
Canada’s first and only research hub dedicated to developing, testing and validating personal protective equipment (PPE) is receiving a $1.2M grant from the Ontario Together Fund, announced today by the Government of Ontario.
The funding will support McMaster University’s Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials (CEPEM) in making next generation PPE by expanding its infrastructure, testing equipment and partnerships with companies to advance Canadian-made PPE for healthcare professionals, essential workers and the public.
CEPEM was created in mid-March at the height of concerns about a possible PPE shortage for Ontario’s healthcare and frontline workers.
Since then, its team of faculty and student engineers and clinicians have worked with more than 50 Canadian companies to develop and validate products, get them to market faster, and even rethink the design of PPE for the next generation of frontline workers.
Its research is part of Canada’s Global Nexus for Pandemics and Biological Threats, an international network launched at McMaster with scientists, clinical health and medical specialists, engineers, social scientists and other experts working collaboratively to prevent future pandemics and mitigate global health threats.
“We are at the birth of a new industry in Canada with PPE design and manufacturing. CEPEM’s goal is to support the long-term sustainability and success of this industry,” says Ravi Selvaganapathy, CEPEM’s director and Canada Research Chair in Biomicrofluidics.
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