Caroline Quach-Thanh (born March 15, 1972) is a Canadian

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

and

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

s specialist. She is a professor in the

Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine (french: Faculté de médecine) is one of four medical schools in Quebec. The faculty is part of the Université de Montréal and is located in Montreal and Trois-Rivières. Recent accolades for the school include an endo ...

and Medical Lead in the Infection Prevention and Control Unit at CHU Sainte-Justine. She served as the Chair of the

National Advisory Committee on Immunization The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI; french: Comité consultatif national de l'immunisation; french: CCNI, label=none) is an advisory body that provides the Government of Canada with medical and scientific advice relating to h ...

(NACI) before and during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and oversaw the approval process of

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

s in Canada.

Background

Born March 15, 1972, Caroline Quach-Thanh completed medical school in 1995, and a residency in

pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

in 1998 at the University of Montréal. She then pursued her post-doctoral studies in pediatric infections and microbiology (2002), the a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Epidemiology (2003) at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. She is a Merit Seeker Research Chair under Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé.

Career

Quach-Thanh served as Chair of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (AMMI) Canada from 2014-2016. She served as Chair of the

(NACI) from 2018 to 2021, having first served as a member and then Vice-Chair since 2017, as well as the Québec Immunization Committee at l'Institut national de santé publique du Québec. In this role, she has spoken publicly against “ vaccine disinformation” and has described

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

as a collective responsibility. She was a member of the

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a committee within the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that provides advice and guidance on effective control of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. civ ...

(ACIP), serving as a liaison representative on behalf of NACI. She is also a member of the INSPQ’s Québec Immunization Committee, including having served as Chair from March 2015 to June 2019. Quach-Thanh co-delivered a presentation alongside NACI executive secretary Matthew Tunis at the 2018 Canadian Immunization Conference titled "What's new at NACI?", discussing the expansion of NACI's roles and responsibilities. Quach-Thanh has donated at least $50,000 to the Sainte Justine Children's Hospital Foundation. She previously served as Medical Director of the

McGill University Health Centre The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; french: Centre universitaire de santé McGill) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and is one of the largest medical complex in ...

(MUHC) Vaccine Study Centre, a clinical research program that had (at the time) ran “over 75” studies in vaccines and epidemiology.

COVID-19

In response to criticism and confusion following NACI’s recommendations (such as its changing guidance on the AstraZeneca product), she admitted that the council’s members were exhausted from the totality of their workload. The

Collège des médecins du Québec The ''Collège des médecins du Québec'' (CMQ), or Quebec College of Physicians, is a professional organization responsible for setting educational standards for physicians, regulating the practice of medicine, and policing its members at the prov ...

applauded Dr. Quach-Thanh for her contributions to Québec's health care system and for her work for the public during the

. Quach’s colleague at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, Daniel Jutras, praised her for the “some 700 interviews” she delivered during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Quach-Thanh is a member of the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, serving as Chair of the Vaccine Safety Reference Group. After concluding her role at NACI, she participated in a study for the task force evaluating effects of COVID-19 vaccines in children. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

provided approximately $1.8 million in funding for the study. On October 18, 2021, Quach-Thanh was quoted in a press release stating that PCR testing should be used in a school setting for asymptomatic students due to their relative sensitivity, whereas rapid antigen tests should be reserved for children displaying symptoms.

Research

Quach-Thanh's research interests surround infection prevention, particularly

hospital-acquired infection A hospital-acquired infection, also known as a nosocomial infection (from the Greek , meaning "hospital"), is an infection that is acquired in a hospital or other health care facility. To emphasize both hospital and nonhospital settings, it is so ...

s and

vaccine-preventable diseases A vaccine-preventable disease is an infectious disease for which an effective preventive vaccine exists. If a person acquires a vaccine-preventable disease and dies from it, the death is considered a vaccine-preventable death. The most common and s ...

. She has published over 100 scientific articles in the

PubMed PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health maintain the ...

database. She also contributes to around fifteen epidemiological reports from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec. She has also written several chapters in books on pediatric infections, as well as pharmacology. Her expertise is regularly called on to share important information on new outbreaks of pathogens, and vaccination.

Influenza

In 2020, she received a $2.1 million grant from the

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...

to study the risk of reinfection from

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...

, the virus that causes

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, among health care workers. Quach-Thanh was awarded the

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Infection Prevention and Control on November 1, 2020. The focus of her project, “from Hospital to Community”, is minimizing healthcare-associated infections as well as evaluating the risks and benefits of vaccine regimens. She was awarded $1,400,000 for the period of November 1, 2020 - October 31, 2027 from the

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada, CRSH) is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and traini ...

under the Canada Research Chairs Program.

Accolades

In 2014, Quach-Thanh received an award for excellence in research from the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, under sponsorship by

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

. In 2016, she was awarded the John Embil Mentorship Award in Infectious Diseases by the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases. She was recognized in 2019 and 2020 among ''Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100'', in the

Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation (also known as Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife" an ...

-sponsored category of science and technology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quach-Thanh, Caroline 1972 births Living people Canadian microbiologists Canadian women epidemiologists 21st-century Canadian women scientists Université de Montréal alumni McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni