Dr Rebecca Irwin
Director of the Antimicrobial Resistance Program at the Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada
Dr Irwin received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1986, and a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology in 1988 from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph. Dr Irwin worked for Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada from 1986 to 1996 where her main focus of activities included research on Salmonella and Salmonella Enteritidis in poultry, development of on-farm HACCP programmes and microbial risk assessment. Subsequent to her transfer to Health Canada in 1997, and to the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2004, Dr Irwin has worked intensively on the antimicrobial resistance issue and was instrumental in the development of the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS). Dr Irwin is now Director of the Antimicrobial Resistance Program at the Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada. This programme encompasses surveillance, research and risk assessment activities primarily focused on the animal, food and environmental aspects of the AMR issue.