Canadore College Provides Expertise on COVID-19 Testing

Canadore partners with one of the country's top COVID-19 testing companies to deliver fast and accurate results.

The state-of-the-art laboratory equipment at Canadore College will be used by a Sudbury-based company to conduct COVID-19 testing and provide fast results. RapidScreen is one of Canada's premier private COVID-19 testing enterprises, and it offers industries a quick turnaround between testing employees for coronavirus and getting their results.

RapidScreen partners with Canadore College

"RapidScreen chose Canadore College due it its unwavering commitment to the North and its forward-thinking leadership," said RapidScreen founder Dr. Dennis Reich. "With RapidScreen's focus on service and industry-leading 24-hour COVID-19 testing turnaround time, our exclusive partnership with Canadore will increase testing capacity in the North and help relieve pressure on provincial labs."

"Canadore College welcomes the opportunity to contribute technology and expertise to increase the capacity of the private sector to test for COVID-19," said Canadore College President and CEO, George Burton. "We have always intended our Genomics Lab to lead research into health and wellness, and our partnership with RapidScreen is another opportunity for us to do that."

Canadore College's Genomics Lab

RapidScreen provides COVID-19 testing to several sectors including mining and industrial firms, film and theatre companies, construction firms and corporate offices. Canadore College's Genomics Lab has implemented the testing method with the highest level of sensitivity and specificity which allows for a reliable diagnosis of COVID-19, so customers can keep operating with no disruption.

The Genomics Lab at Canadore includes two DNA sequencers and an array of associated equipment to enhance applied research capacities to better understand and prevent disease. The College is exploring a research component to the RapidScreen partnership. Canadore is one of only a few colleges in Ontario to have the infrastructure necessary to establish the relationship with RapidScreen.

"Our Genomics Lab infrastructure allows us to track the COVID-19 pandemic. Genomic sequencing of the actual virus and the individuals infected has significant potential to inform public health management for COVID-19," said Dr. Pritesh Kumar, Canadore's Director of Cannabinoid Research. "Genomic surveillance has been used in the past to detect and respond to transmission clusters and to provide information on possible sources of individual cases."

"The Genomics Lab gives Canadore students the opportunity to participate in this specialized research as part of their education and training," said Burton. "Our relationship with companies like RapidScreen gives us recognition at provincial, national and international levels that we can use to attract more students into our science programs. That is positive news for Canadore, North Bay, and the province of Ontario."