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Since the global pandemic hit in winter 2020, Canadians and global citizens have been confronted with a myriad of questions — from how to understand and treat the virus to how to cope with life in quarantine and what life will look like when we surface from this international crisis.  

A new virtual event series, Conversation Confronting COVID-19, has been launched as part of the Discover Research @Queen’s campaign to examine these questions at the forefront of our minds and assess both challenges and unique opportunities the situation has presented. 

On Wednesday, June 24, the first installment of the monthly series launched with a focus on the theme of Innovation Pivots. The panel featured members of the Queen’s community who have effectively pivoted their research and programs to come up with creative and innovative solutions to the pandemic. 

Moderated by Jim Banting, Assistant Vice-Principal (Partnerships and Innovation), the discussion took a deep dive into three initiatives that are working to confront various aspects of COVID-19: 

• The Mechanical Ventilator Milano initiative is an international project aimed at developing a low-cost, easy-to-build ventilator to treat COVID-19. The project has gained international media attention, and the Canadian arm of the collaboration is being led by Queen’s Nobel Laureate, Dr. Arthur B. McDonald. The project was represented by Dr. Tony Noble, Professor, Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy, and Scientific Director, Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute. 
• The Hand Sanitizer Initiative was mobilized by Queen’s researchers and industry partners to support Kingston hospitals. The project was represented by Ms. Emily Albright, PhD Candidate, Chemistry, and Dr. Richard Oleschuk, Professor, Chemistry. 
• Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre's Spread Innovation Challenge inspired 150 innovators across the globe to tackle pressing challenges caused by COVID-19.  Ms. Lesley Sikapa, Mastercard Foundation Scholar (University of Toronto) shared about her experience as a participant in the DDQIC Spread Innovation Challenge.

“We are excited to share, with our alumni and the greater Queen’s community, the important work that our researchers, students and affiliates are doing in our fight to understand and confront the challenges associated with the pandemic,” says Karen Bertrand, Vice-Principal (Advancement). 

The Conversations Confronting COVID-19 series is free and open to the public. Stay tuned for more details about the next event in the series. To learn more about the projects featured in the event, visit the Research @Queen’s website. 

This story originally appeared in the Queen’s Gazette.