The Community Advisory Committee is convened by researchers at the University of Toronto and York University proposing the development of a controlled human infection model (CHIM) for hepatitis C. Also called human challenge studies, CHIMs involve the careful, deliberate infection of consenting adulting volunteers with a certain disease.
CHIMs can be used to test vaccines, treatments, or learn other important information about a disease, but because they involve infection of healthy volunteers, they are ethically complex and require careful thought, oversight, and public consultation. This committee is one way researchers are conducting public consultation.
The committee members are non-medical specialists whose personal and professional experiences are relevant to the design of a human challenge study for hepatitis C. Several have volunteered in human challenge studies for other diseases. Others have lived experience as former members of groups that are very heavily burdened by hepatitis C, namely, people who inject drugs and/or who are incarcerated. Finally, several members have extensive experience in advocacy work around viral hepatitis, harm reduction, or work with vulnerable populations like the formerly incarcerated.
In alphabetical order:
- Julia Bacon is working on regaining her registered nursing license after her successful recovery from intravenous drug use. She contracted hepatitis C as a result of drug use, and has since cleared the virus. She is passionate about protecting others from the disease in the future. She lives in Ontario.
- Matthew Bonn is an international board member with International Network of Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, a knowledge translator for the Dr. Peter Centre and a harm reduction knowledge broker. He was previously the program manager with the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs and was also on the 64th Canadian delegation to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He is a current drug user and a formerly incarcerated person.
- Jake Eberts (co-chair) is a former volunteer in a human challenge trial/CHIM study for Shigella. He previously served as the communications director for 1Day Sooner, a nonprofit that advocates for healthy medical participants. He lives in Washington, D.C.
- Carrielynn Lund is a Métis advocate for Aboriginal health issues in Canada, and has had personal experience living with hepatitis C. She has done extensive work in the area of heath research around HIV, hep C, STBBI and related mental health and stigma, particularly with Indigenous youth, Elders, resilience and research ethics.
- Carolina Reid is a former human challenge study participant for malaria and a 1Day Sooner volunteer. Growing up, Carolina saw firsthand the seriousness of hepatitis C; a relative lived with an infection for many years. She lives in Washington state.
- Thomas Smiley is a long-time volunteer with 1Day Sooner who joined a human challenge trial for norovirus in 2022. Thomas has spoken publicly about his passion for the respect of the autonomy and altruism of healthy human volunteers in medical research. He lives in Ohio.
- Jennifer Van Gennip (co-chair) is the director of Action Hepatitis Canada and an advocacy and communications strategist who has worked on issues including housing, homelessness and health equity. She lives in Ontario.
- Pam Young is a program manager at Unlocking the Gates, a British Columbia nonprofit that supports individuals reintegrating into society following incarceration. She is also the peer coordinator for the Transformative Health & Justice Research Cluster at the University of British Columbia. Pam has lived experience as a formerly incarcerated person
None of the organizations mentioned above are party to this committee; they are for identification purposes only. Any recommendations made by the committee are that of the committee alone.
Alumni:
- Camilla Broderick is a graduate student at the Columbia University School of Social Work in New York. Her lived experience includes previous incarceration and time as a person who injected drugs.
- Caroline Pugh-Roberts is a peer support worker with the Salvation Army Correctional & Justice Services in London, Ontario. Caroline was once a victim of human trafficking and has become a dedicated advocate for those who have been similarly victimized.
HCV CHIM Community Advisory Committee 