World Health through Science / Science sans Frontières

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Who We Are

ICAV is a large-scale international consortium, established to discover and develop new therapeutic interventions for viral infections.

The ultimate goal of ICAV is to discover and develop new therapeutics that target host functions that are crucial to the infectivity of many viruses. By linking scientists and others from Universities, Institutes, Hospitals and Industry from around the world, ICAV will not only facilitate knowledge transfer and effective use of limited resources and global expertise, but will also accelerate the development and delivery of drugs that target viral diseases worldwide.

Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

The genesis of ICAV lies in the SARS outbreak of 2003 that, very fortunately, was well contained and exacted more of a financial than human cost. As the speed and impact of that disaster made frighteningly clear, viral pandemics continue to threaten us on a global scale. The SARS outbreak in Toronto, Canada led to the swift funding of eight SARS research projects by the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE) and the subsequent success of those projects was the impetus for the creation of ICAV. The platform of the consortium is to target the existing and emerging viral diseases that have caused, and will continue to case, so many human tragedies and economic disasters worldwide.

Executive Management

Jeremy Carver

ICAV CEO, CSO

Trent University

Peterborough, Ontario

Dr. Carver is the CEO/CSO and a founding member of ICAV. He has a wealth of experience as an academic researcher (26 years, University of Toronto), academic administrator (3 years as Associate Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto) and, most recently, as the Founding President, CEO and CSO of a biotechnology company (8 years) with strategic alliances with companies in Denmark, Japan, Belgium and the USA. In addition, Dr. Carver has been a leading participant in the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE) throughout its 14-year existence, currently as Chair of the Board. Through these activities, he has gained considerable experience in the management of international multi-institutional, goal-oriented, research endeavours.

Michel Chrétien

International Partnerships and Networking

Ottawa Health Research Institute

Ottawa, Ontario

As clinical scientist, Michel Chrétien made his major contributions in basic research. In 1967, he pioneered the prohormone theory, subsequently applied to neuropeptides, growth factors, receptors, enzymes, adhesion molecules, viral glycoproteins, bacterial toxins and transcription factors.

In 1990, he and Nabil Seidah co-discovered the long sought cleavage enzymes called proprotein convertases. It is estimated that 10-15% of the genome codes for convertase substrates, some of which will be implicated in hypercholesterolemia, arteriosclerosis, cancer, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer and viral disorders (SARS, Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Lassa etc…).

M.D. from the UdeMontréal, he trained at McGill, Harvard, Berkeley, UCSF, Salk and Cambridge. In 1967, he joined the IRCM and later became its Scientific Director. In 1998, he headed the Loeb Health Research Institute and recently created the System Biology Institute at the UofO.

Holder of 5 DSc. Honoris Causa (France, Belgium & Canada), he received the Killam and McLaughlin Prizes, the R&D Medal, the Friesen, Boehringer-Mannheim and Manning awards. He is Fellow of AAAS and received the Fuller Albright and the Metzger awards (USA). He is a member of the Order of Canada and l’Ordre national du Québec. In 2004, he became ‘’Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur de France.

He was a principal investigator (PI) in PENCE and member of its board of directors. He is a founding scientist of ICAV and a PI in the sub-project on the inhibitors of viral fusion with host membrane as potential broad spectrum antiviral agents. In ICAV, he is responsible for the international networking which led to the concept of “Science sans Frontières”.

Noël Tordo

French Co-ordinator

Paris, France

Dr. Noël Tordo is a molecular virologist who received his PhD in Paris (1988). As “Laboratory Head” in the Virology Department at the Pasteur Institute (Paris), dealing with rabies and lyssaviruses for the past 20 years. He has supervised many PhD and Post-doctoral students. His team has produced original contributions in various aspects of rabies such as: molecular genetics and epidemiology, phylogeny, molecular basis of virus/host adaptation, cell partners to viral proteins, neurotropism and neuropathogenesis, reverse genetics systems, recombinant and multivalent vaccines. Dr. Tordo is also Director of the Course of Fundamental Virology at the Pasteur Institute, Organizer of short/medium-term Virology Courses aboard, of Virology Meetings, WHO-PAHO expert, Head of the Rhabdovirus Study Group at the International Committee for Taxonomy of Viruses, Member of Editorial Boards (J. Gen. Virol.) Scientific Councils (INRA), Scientific Societies.

For more detail please consult the ICAV Overview PDF Document.