Five years ago, the world as we knew it changed in the blink of an eye. In March of 2020, many felt unprepared for the new reality of living life amidst a global pandemic. While the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, the researchers at McMaster Engineering have their sights on the future to prevent the next pandemic and meet the growing global demand to innovate higher quality personal protective equipment (PPE).
Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and in collaboration with McMaster University, Western University, University of Alberta, University of Toronto and leading medical PPE companies, the NSERC CREATE MedPEM program was launched in 2024. The objective of the program is to train highly qualified personnel (HQP), from undergraduate students to post-doctoral fellows through a curriculum that is rooted in technical training, industry experience and professional development. Industry partners include GreenNano Technologies Inc., Medicom, Niko Apparel Systems, RONCO, with non-profit partners the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, CSA Group, CTT, FP Innovations and World Filtration Institute.
“This world-class training program will provide participants with a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment,” says Rakesh Sahu, Adjunct Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering. “It is designed to help develop transferable professional skills in HQP, ensuring they are well-prepared to tackle future challenges.”
While many think of PPE in relation to a pandemic, the need for top-grade medical PPE is essential in several other areas. As communities across the world feel the increasing pressures of climate change in the form of wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters, the need for medical PPE is critical, especially for first responders.
“The NSERC CREATE MedPEM program will play an important role in addressing a gap in PPE needs that we are facing in Canada and internationally,” says Ravi Selvaganapathy, Professor and Co-Director of McMaster’s School of Biomedical Engineering. “By equipping our trainees with the necessary skills and knowledge, we are investing in a safer and more resilient future.”
A legacy in health innovation excellence
Working on developing the next generation of PPE is nothing new for McMaster. In 2020, the call from Hamilton Health Sciences upon the city’s leaders to step up and help keep the community, especially the front-line workers, protected led to the creation of the Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials (CEPEM).
In just a month, the CEPEM team was able to design, build, and implement PPE and worked with local businesses Whitebird and Niko Apparel to upscale production of face shields and face masks to 20,000 units a day.
CEPEM is the most comprehensive non-woven research facility in Canada dedicated to developing next generation of PPE. The focus encompasses investing in sustainable and advanced materials, developing advanced manufacturing methods, developing new design, testing methods and providing evidence for establishment of new standards
Over the last five years, CEPEM has consulted more than 60 companies within Canada and received over $4.5 M of research funding from Federal and Provincial Government as well as industry partners such as Ronco, Medicom, Carmina de Young, Niko apparel, Ecosystem Informatics, McRae Imaging, AGS Zephyr, Bioastra, Ventus Respiratory Technologies, Abatement Technologies, Mahajan Canada, ALTTEX, Eddyfloor Tools and Controlled Comfort Air.
“The work that CEPEM has done since its inception has been, and continues to be, the embodiment of what we strive for as an institution,” says Heather Sheardown, Dean to the Faculty of Engineering “At McMaster we are always applying our collective expertise to make real world impact and engineering solutions to pressing global issues.”
Learn more about the NSERC CREATE MedPEM program at McMaster.