PLOS ONE
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19
(BQC19)—A cohort to prospectively study
the clinical and biological determinants of
COVID-19 clinical trajectories
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OPEN ACCESS
Citation: Tremblay K, Rousseau S, Zawati MH,
Auld D, Chassé M, Coderre D, et al. (2021) The
Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)—
A cohort to prospectively study the clinical and
biological determinants of COVID-19 clinical
trajectories. PLoS ONE 16(5): e0245031. https://
doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031
Editor: John S. Lambert, Mater Misericordiae
University Hospital, IRELAND
Received: December 23, 2020
Accepted: April 3, 2021
Published: May 19, 2021
Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the
benefits of transparency in the peer review
process; therefore, we enable the publication of
all of the content of peer review and author
responses alongside final, published articles. The
editorial history of this article is available here:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031
Copyright: © 2021 Tremblay et al. This is an open
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original
author and source are credited.
Data Availability Statement: Data with a very low
risk of re-identification and no particular sensitivity
(“open access data”), such as aggregated patient
Karine Tremblay1,2☯*, Simon Rousseau ID3,4☯*, Ma’n H. Zawati5☯*, Daniel Auld ID6,
Michaël Chassé7,8, Daniel Coderre9, Emilia Liana Falcone7,10, Nicolas Gauthier11,
Nathalie Grandvaux12,13, François Gros-Louis14,15, Carole Jabet16, Yann Joly5, Daniel
E. Kaufmann7,13, Catherine Laprise1,17, Catherine Larochelle13,18, François Maltais19,
Anne-Marie Mes-Masson13,20, Alexandre Montpetit9, Alain Piché21,22, J.
Brent Richards23,24, Sze Man Tse25, Alexis F. Turgeon ID26,27, Gustavo Turecki28,29, Donald
C. Vinh30,31, Han Ting Wang32,33, Vincent Mooser34, on behalf of BQC19¶
1 Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux (CIUSSS) du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean,
Saguenay, QC, Canada, 2 Department of Pharmacology-Physiology, Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty,
Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada, 3 The Meakins-Christie Laboratories at the Research
Institute of the McGill University Heath Centre Research Institute, Montréal, QC, Canada, 4 Department of
Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada, 5 Centre of Genomics and Policy,
McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada, 6 McGill Genome Centre and Department of Human Genetics,
McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada, 7 Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de
Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada, 8 Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), Montréal, QC,
Canada, 9 Génome Québec, Montreal, QC, Canada, 10 Department of Immunity and Viral Infections,
Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 11 CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Ile-deMontréal—Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada, 12 Department of Biochemistry and
Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada, 13 Centre de Recherche
du Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada, 14 Centre de
Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Regenerative Medicine Division, Québec, QC,
Canada, 15 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada, 16 Fonds
de Recherche du Québec Santé, Montreal, QC, Canada, 17 Département des Sciences Fondamentales,
Centre Intersectoriel en Santé Durable, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC, Canada,
18 Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada, 19 Quebec Heart and
Lung Institute, Quebec, QC, Canada, 20 Institut du Cancer de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada,
21 Département de Microbiologie et Infectiologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada,
22 Département de Médecine, Service d’Infectiologie, Centre de Recherche Clinique du Centre Hospitalier
Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, 23 Lady Davis Institute, Jewish General
Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada, 24 Department of Epidemiology and Department of
Human Genetics, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada,
25 Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal,
Montreal, QC, Canada, 26 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec–Université Laval Research Center,
Population Health and Optimal Health Practices Research Unit, Trauma-Emergency-Critical Care Medicine,
Québec City, QC, Canada, 27 Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical
Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, Canada, 28 CIUSSS de l’Ouest-del’Ile-de-Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada, 29 Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University
Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, 30 Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of
Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada, 31 Division of Medical Microbiology,
Department of Laboratory Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada, 32 Division of
Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada, 33 CIUSSS
de l’Est-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal, Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Research Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada,
34 Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
☯ These authors contributed equally to this work.
¶ Membership of the BQC19’ contributors is listed in the Acknowledgments.
* karine.tremblay@usherbrooke.ca (KT); simon.rousseau@mcgill.ca (SR); man.zawati@mcgill.ca (MHZ)
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data from the different cohorts is available via the
BQC19 website (www.BQC19.ca) or can be
requested by email at: info@bqc19.ca. Upon
completion of the study, the publicly available data
will be deposited on a repository with the link
provided in the comment section of the article. The
stored biological materials will be accessed
through a controlled system. Data that has a direct
or high risk of re-identification will also go through
a tightly controlled access process available at
BQC19.ca and described in greater details in the
manuscript.
Funding: This biobank is financially support by the
Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS),
Genome Québec and the Public Health Agency of
Canada (PHAC). The funders initiated the project to
support the research community facing the COVID19 related sanitary emergency.
Competing interests: The authors have declared
that no competing interests exist.
Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 infection causing the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) has been
responsible for more than 2.8 million deaths and nearly 125 million infections worldwide as of
March 2021. In March 2020, the World Health Organization determined that the COVID–19
outbreak is a global pandemic. The urgency and magnitude of this pandemic demanded
immediate action and coordination between local, regional, national, and international actors.
In that mission, researchers require access to high-quality biological materials and data from
SARS-CoV-2 infected and uninfected patients, covering the spectrum of disease manifestations. The “Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19” (BQC19) is a pan–provincial initiative
undertaken in Québec, Canada to enable the collection, storage and sharing of samples and
data related to the COVID-19 crisis. As a disease-oriented biobank based on high-quality biosamples and clinical data of hospitalized and non-hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive
and negative individuals. The BQC19 follows a legal and ethical management framework
approved by local health authorities. The biosamples include plasma, serum, peripheral
blood mononuclear cells and DNA and RNA isolated from whole blood. In addition to the clinical variables, BQC19 will provide in-depth analytical data derived from the biosamples including whole genome and transcriptome sequencing, proteome and metabolome analyses,
multiplex measurements of key circulating markers as well as anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody
responses. BQC19 will provide the scientific and medical communities access to data and
samples to better understand, manage and ultimately limit, the impact of COVID-19. In this
paper we present BQC19, describe the process according to which it is governed and organized, and address opportunities for future research collaborations. BQC19 aims to be a part
of a global communal effort addressing the challenges of COVID–19.
Introduction
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel human disease caused by the coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2. It was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on
March 11, 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak is evolving daily, with the total number of deaths
now reaching 2,748,737 and confirmed cases surpassing 125,160,255 (WHO, March 26, 2021).
Research is essential to better understand the determinants of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the
diverse clinical trajectories of infected patients and the determinants of COVID-19 clinical
evolution. This work will help clinicians identify individuals at increased risk for complications
and poor outcomes in order to adopt appropriate measures to protect them, to help the government take public health measures to control the spread of the infection, and to anticipate
and better prepare for future pandemics. Access to high-quality biological materials and data
from SARS-CoV-2 infected and uninfected participants is essential for achieving this mission.
As part of the solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, massive investments in coronavirus
research have been launched worldwide and biobanks containing biosamples and medical
data of individuals having suffered from SARS-CoV-2 infection have become key resources to
pursue such research efforts.
In this manuscript, we present the “Biobanque Québécoise de la COVID-19” (BQC19,
www.bqc19.ca), a Québec-based biobank infrastructure whose primary objective is to collect
and house biosamples and data to support research on COVID-19.
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Infratructure, study design & methods
Presentation of the BQC19
On March 26, 2020, the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé (FRQS) and Génome Québec
announced the launch of a COVID-19 Québec Biobank program, named BQC19. BQC19 is a
province-wide initiative to enable the collection, storage and sharing of biosamples and data
related to the COVID-19 crisis The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) provided significant additional funds to further support the goals of BQC19.
Mission. The mission of the BQC19 is to work in concert with the Quebec network of
health institutions of the “Réseau de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec” (RSSS) and
academic partners (Research centres and universities) to manage the unique COVID-19
related biological material and data banked at BQC19. The notion of sharing research results is
at the heart of the BQC19’s mission, and as such, BQC19 has signed the Wellcome Statement
on data sharing in public health emergencies, an open-science policy (https://wellcome.org/
coronavirus-covid-19/open-data). The BQC19’s broad goal is to understand the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and support efforts to discover and develop new biomarkers of disease susceptibility and progression, new or reoriented therapies and vaccines to combat COVID-19.
The BQC19 is also directed at enhancing research efforts related to the prevention, treatment,
and epidemiological and population management of COVID-19. The BQC19 will stimulate
health research and precision medicine initiatives on COVID-19.
A Quebec hospitals’ network. BQC19 is a multicentric biobanking infrastructure composed of a network of 11 hospitals in Québec and their five partnering academic institutions.
All currently participating institutions are presented in Table 1. The BCQ19 governance is
summarized in Fig 1 and the composition of each committee is also available on the BQC19
website. BQC19 began its operations on April 1, 2020 and the milestones achieved to date are
presented in Fig 2. The BQC19 project was approved by the Centre hospitalier universitaire de
l’Université de Montréal Institutional ethics review board (IRB) [#MP-02-2020-8929, 19.389].
The BQC19 study design
The BQC19 has been designed as a cohort that includes SARS-CoV-2 PCR negative controls
to prospectively study the clinical and biological determinants of COVID-19 clinical trajectories. The BCQ19 conceptual and longitudinal design is illustrated in Fig 3 and the major components are described in the next subsections.
Recruitment. BQC19 includes confirmed COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2-positive (+)) adults
and children who are recruited during a hospital stay (hospitalized cohort). It also includes
asymptomatic, mild and moderate ambulatory cases who are recruited one-month post-infection (non-hospitalized cohort). The grading score for severity is based on the WHO Working
Group on the Clinical Characterisation and Management of COVID-19 infection [1]. For both
groups, SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative (-) patients are recruited as controls. Thus, in order to be
enrolled in the BQC19, the patients must:
1. have undergone a COVID-19 diagnostic test and, for the hospitalized cohort have been
admitted to a participating hospital;
2. be willing to participate in optional long-term follow-up;
3. have the capacity to provide informed consent (if the participant is an adult); or have a surrogate decision maker from whom consent can be obtained (in case of incapacity); or have
a parental or legal guardian able to provide consent (if the participant is younger than 18
years).
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Table 1. The BQC19 enrolling institutions.
Institutions
Investigators
Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Daniel Kaufmann
Michaël Chassé
Madeleine Durand
Alexandre Prat
Quebec Heart and Lung Institute
François Maltais
CIUSSS du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Catherine Laprise
Karine Tremblay
Luigi Bouchard
Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ)—Université Laval
Alexis Turgeon
Vincent Raymond
Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHUSJ)
Sze Man Tse
Hugo Soudeyns
Philippe Jouvet
Jean-Sébastien Joyal
CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal -Jewish General Hospital
Brent Richards
Jonathan Afilalo
McGill University Health Centre (MUHC)
Bruce Mazer
Donald Vinh
CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal—Douglas Mental Health University Institute Gustavo Turecki
Nadir Hadid
Volodymyr Yerko
CIUSSS de l’Estrie—Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke
Alain Piché
CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal—Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur-de-Montréal
Nicolas Gauthier
Yiorgos Alexandros Cavayas
Christine Arseneault
CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal—Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont
Han Ting Wang
Jan Alexis Tremblay
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.t001
Consent considerations. Informed consent is obtained directly from the adult participant
capable of consenting, from a legally authorized representative if the adult is incapable of giving consent or from a parent or legal guardian if aged less than 18 years old. Additionally,
assent is obtained from a participating child when appropriate.
Given the high risk of infection for clinical and research staff related to COVID-19, consent
is carried out using procedures derived from practices in acute and critical care units and taking into account the particular situation arising from the pandemic.
Consent procedures. Each BQC19 enrolling site has established a consent process that
reflects the BQC19’s standard operating procedures (SOPs, available on www.bqc19.ca). These
SOPs address the following specific points: 1) when and where the patient is approached; 2)
the procedure to follow when the patient is diagnosed as a SARS-CoV-2 positive or negative
PCR result; 3) the timing and nature of sampling (including data) depending on whether the
patient is diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 positive or negative and whether the patient is hospitalized, and; 4) the time period over which recruitment is to be conducted. The SOPs developed
for BQC19 provide details on each of these points targeted to each facility. To ensure consistency across BQC19 and to ensure that procedures are harmonized, consent processes established by the BQC19 participating establishments must follow two fundamental principles: 1)
respect of the autonomy of the participants (taking into account their state of health) according
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Fig 1. BQC19 organizational chart. BQC19 is a biobank with its own management and governance structure. The governance includes a Governing Committee, a
Steering Committee, an independent Data and Sample Access Committee, and an international Scientific Advisory Board (Antoine Flahault, MD, Ph.D., Director,
Institut de santé globale, Université de Genève, Switzerland (President); Andrew D. Badley, MD, Principal Investigator, Mayo COVID19 Biobank, Rochester, Minnesota,
USA; Mark Daly, Ph.D., Co-director, Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Daniel Douek, MD, Ph.D., Chief
of the Human Immunology Section, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA; Mette Hartlev, LLM, Ph.D., LLD, Professor, Centre for Legal Studies in Welfare and
Market, Denmark; Gary Kobinger, Ph.D., Canada Research Chair in immunotherapy and innovative vaccine platforms, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec,
Université Laval, Quebec, Canada; Rosanna Peeling, Ph.D., London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK, Professor/Chair of Diagnostics Research,
Director of the International Diagnostic Centre (IDC)). It also includes several sub-committees responsible for mandates ranging from scientific priorities to
communication and ethical, legal and social issues. The governance of BQC19 is framed in its Management Framework. Terms of References for accessing samples and
data collected within the framework of BQC19 are being completed.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.g001
to provincial legal and research ethics standards and 2) ensure the safety of all stakeholders
involved at all times. Additional information can be found in (Appendix 1- Consent in S1
File).
The BQC19 sample collection
BQC19 collected samples and availability. For adults who have consented to participate
in BQC19 and are hospitalized, 48 ml peripheral venous blood samples are drawn at up to five
different timepoints during the participant’s clinically indicated blood work. Blood samples
are collected when possible: on the day of recruitment (T0); on Day 2 (Q2); on Day 7 (Q7); on
Day 14 (T14); and on Day 30 (T30) or at the first available time if the window was missed. For
participants who were discharged from hospital, an additional 60 mL of blood is drawn at each
of the follow-up visits scheduled approximately at months 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 following hospital discharge (outpatient or home). For those participating to follow-up, blood is not necessarily collected as part of standard care and a maximum of 200 ml of blood per month can be
collected. For adults who have consented to participate in BQC19 but have not been hospitalized, a 60 mL of blood is drawn at each of the scheduled follow-up visits approximately in
months 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24. For these participants, blood is also not necessarily collected as
part of standard care and a maximum of 200 ml of blood per month can be collected. For both
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Fig 2. BQC19 milestones. The key BQC19 milestones achieved since the start of its mandate received on March 19th, 2020 leading to the release of the first set of data
(July 17, The key BQC19 milestones achieved since the start of its mandate received on March 19th, 2020 leading to the release of the first set of data (July 17, 2020).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.g002
cohorts, follow-up visits are optional and participants may opt to agree only provide clinical
information if they do not wish to donate blood samples. For children, the adult protocol is followed but the total volume is determined according to the weight of the child. If the parent
Fig 3. BQC19 study design. Schematic representation of the BQC19 study design. For hospitalized patients (hospitalized cohort) samples are collected during
hospitalization at the days indicated (darker blue) and following hospitalization at the months indicated (paler blue). For asymptomatic, mild and moderate disease outpatients (non-hospitalized cohort), samples are collected at the indicated time points (pale blue). Samples to be collected by all participants (pale blue) and COVID-19
+ only (black).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.g003
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Table 2. BQC19 available biosamples.
Total a
Type of samples
b
2,726
RNA isolates b
3,794
Plasma
3,930
Serum
1,244
DNA isolates
PBMCs
3,198
Total
14,892
PBMCs = Peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
a
As of March 19, 2021.
b
Include all expected samples collected from whole blood (DNA) or PAXgene1 (RNA) tubes.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.t002
refuses a blood draw for research, their permission is obtained to recuperate leftover samples
from the clinical laboratory. Depending on the possibilities for blood samples to be processed,
the BQC19 sample collection includes: 1 PAXgene1 RNA tube, 4 Acid Citrate Dextrose
(ACD) tubes and 1 red-capped tube (serum) from each participant at each visit where blood
sample are drawn. These samples allow DNA/RNA, plasma, serum and peripheral blood
mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolation. All tubes are kept at room temperature before processing; samples are processed rapidly after phlebotomy, ideally < 6 hours; <12 hours is fine for
most assays; >12h: a number of functional assays will become less reliable. The retrieval time
between venipucture and sample handling is documented. The complete sample processing is
available in the Appendix 2 in S1 File. The BQC19 stored biosamples inventory is presented
in Table 2.
Biosamples pre-analytical quality control
In order to ensure consistency in the preparation of biosamples collected for BQC19, all participating sites use the same SOPs (available at BQC19.ca), clearly detailing the exact protocol to
be followed, including the type of primary container to be used (Table 3). In terms of pre-analytical quality assessment, we document the following information for each sample collected:
date of collection, location of sample, associated barcode(s), SOPs used, time elapsed to biobank, precisions/explanations on delays, name of sample’s handler. Our protocol details that
samples should ideally be processed in less than 6h from collection, the actual time (pre-centrifugation time) is recorded for each sample in the biobank management software. In addition,
for PBMCs we document cell concentration, number of cells in sample (total cells count),
Table 3. BQC19 biosample pre-analytical quality information.
Type of sample
Type of primary container
Pre-centrifugation delays a
Whole blood
ACD, SED, SHP
RNA
PAX
Plasma
ACD
<1h
<2h
<3h
between 1-6h
>6h
unknow
and specified delay
Serum
CAT ou SST
PBMCs
ACD
Centrifugation
Long-term storage
-80˚C (2ml tubes, barcoded)
overnight RT, 24h at -20˚C, -80˚C long term
850 X g, 10 min RT, no Brake
-80˚C (1.5ml cryotube)
2000 X g, 10 min RT, Brake
-80˚C (1.5ml cryotube)
300 X g, 4˚C, no Brake
Liquid nitrogen (sterile cryotubes)
ACD = Acid citrate dextrose tube; CAT = Serum tube without clot activator; PAX = PAXgene1 tube; PBMCs = Peripheral blood mononuclear cells; RT = Room
temperature; SED = Sodium EDTA tube; SHP = Sodium heparin tube; SST = Serum separating tube with clot activator.
a
Indicated values are captured for each biosamples in biobank management software.
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
freezing medium; for nucleic acids isolations, we document extraction date, extracted from
[biological specimen], extraction method, diluent, absorbance measurements at 260nm,
280nm and 320nm, 260/280 ratio, dilution factor, concentration, total amount.
Access to BQC19 samples and data
Usage of BQC19 biosamples and data is only possible if aligned with a participant’s consent.
This is made possible by ensuring that the access process as well as the terms and conditions of
any future use of data and samples respect the general permissions consented to by participants. Access must respect the rights, interests and expectations of the BQC19 participants and
must support the research to which they initially consented, consistent with the mission of the
BQC19. Access to data, a renewable resource, is planned in a manner that allows rapid data
use by applicants to meet urgent research needs associated with COVID-19. An expedited
assessment process is in place for requests to access data alone. Access to biological samples, a
limited resource, requires additional steps.
Open and controlled access. Data with a very low risk of re-identification and no particular sensitivity (“open access data”), such as aggregated patient data from the different cohorts
will be made publicly available on the BQC19 website. For the stored biological materials, they
will be accessed through a controlled system. Data that has a direct or high risk of re-identification will also go through a tightly controlled access process. Access to the BQC19 resources
complies with the processing principles described below.
Principles guiding access to BQC19 data and biosamples. Requests from investigators
who wish to access BQC19 samples and data are reviewed by the independent Biobank Access
Committee. The eligibility criteria to apply for access are summarized in Fig 4 and the procedure in Fig 5. The details can be found in (Appendix 3- Access in S1 File). A registry of all
projects that have benefited from biomaterial and data of BQC19 is maintained and will be
made available to the research community and the general public on the BQC19 website.
Results & discussion
Participant’s profiles (April to March 2021)
Enrollment statistics. For the hospitalized cohort, we report a 75.4% acceptance rate
(2,1271 out of 2,878 invited to participate excluding patients who were discharged or scheduled to be discharged, deceased, incapacited, or admitted to care units without planned blood
sampling; total form eight sites). In the non-hospitalized cohort, we report an acceptance rate
of 80.2% (616 out of 768 invited to participate; total from five sites). The higher success rate in
the non-hospitalized cohort may be explained by different enrolling strategies across sites (e.g.
two of the sites used public advertising which includes a voluntarism bias). In term of dropout
rates, we report 3.4% in the hospitalized cohort (73 dropouts out of 2171 enrolled participants)
and a 0.5% rate in the non-hospitalized cohort (3 dropouts out of 616 enrolled participants).
Finally, for both cohorts, reported reasons for refusal or study dropout include: “no interest”,
“no benefit”, “don’t believe in research purposes”, “no time for follow-up”, “surrogate refusal”,
“health related reasons/age”, “SARS-CoV-2 negative patient who though their participation
wasn’t important”, “fear about the future uses of their data (or their children’s data)”, “parents’
fear of harming their children”, “unwillingness to move or to give more blood for follow-up
visits”, “communication/understanding issues”, “difficulty in taking blood samples”, and
“overburdened by hospitalization and their clinical follow-up/worried enough”.
BQC19 participants’ characteristics and available data. As of March 19, 2021, 2,787 participants have consented to participate to the BQC19. However, quality controlled data is currently available for a total of 2,300 enrolled participants (2,256 adults and 44 children recruited
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
Fig 4. Eligibility and evaluation criteria for BQC19 access. The figure lists the general eligibility and evaluation
criteria to obtain access to BQC19 biological material and data.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.g004
between April 2020 and March 2021). A total of 1,635 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive
cases (789 males and 846 females) aged between 0 and 104 years (adults mean of age of 59.2±
standard deviation of 19.6 years; children mean age of 7.3±7.0 years) and 644 SARS-CoV-2
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Biobanque québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19)
PCR negative controls (335 males and 330 females) aged between 0 and 102 years (adults
mean age of 62.5±20.1 years; children mean age of 6.4±6.7 years) were included. Among all
subjects, 1,716 (1,110 SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive cases and 596 negative controls) are part of
hospitalized cohort while 584 (515 SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive cases and 69 negative controls)
are part of non-hospitalized cohort; their distribution according to follow-up visits is presented
for both cohorts in Fig 6. For the hospitalized cohort, where participants have been enrolled at
the time of hospital admission (Day 0), the full sample sets currently available at each timepoint are shown in Fig 6A. For the non-hospitalized cohort, the full sample sets are available
for all participants at Day 180 post-infection (Fig 6B). However, in this cohort, some participants may have been enrolled at Day 30 or Day 90 post-infection.
The relevant demographic, clinical and pharmacological variables for each participant are
collected following a chart review documented in a case report form (CRF) (available at www.
bqc19.ca). The participants currently included in BQC19’s database are distributed in four
Québec Health Regions: 1808 (78.6%) from Montréal (five enrolling sites); 291 (12.7%) from
Estrie (one enrolling site); 144 (6.3%) from the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (one enrolling site);
and 57 (2.5%) from the Capitale-Nationale (two enrolling sites). This is not an accurate reflection of the demographic representation of the province’s population, which was not the goal of
this biobank, but rather to recruit participants as quickly as possible, to support research during the sanitary emergency.
The consent to BQC19 participation allows access to participants’ medical chart as well as
information contained in the Quebec public health administrative databases (e.g. the “Institut
de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ)” or the “Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec”).
BQC19 key features
In this section, we outline a few key features of BQC19 that may be useful to the research community in taking advantage of its resources.
An evolutive biobank management framework. The management framework is at the
core of any biobank initiative. It defines key structural and procedural elements associated
with resources. These complex documents need significant forethought and usually require a
considerable time investment, an element that was not available to the BQC19 since the goal
was to begin recruitment at the dawn of the first wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the
spring of 2020. Given the urgency of the situation, this management framework was developed
and approved in several distinct phases to both address the urgent need to start operation,
while respecting the core values of ethics and transparency. The first phase focused on enabling
recruitment, followed by governance and access. This process allowed BQC19 to be receptive
to a shifting on-the-ground reality, both scientifically and ethically, and to enable the management framework to rapidly adapt to reflect these realities while at the same time remaining
innovative, anticipatory and forward-looking. This iterative procedure was only possible
through a tight and dynamic collaboration with IRBs of the hospitals participating in the
BQC19. For more details, the BQC19 management framework is available on BQC19 website.
Standardization across sites. A key requirement of a multicentric project is the uniformization of processes across all recruiting sites using the same SOPs. This allows studies to be
performed on a greater number of samples and to compare disease profiles across regions.
This is particularly important to limit pre-analytical issues for “omics” analyses.
PBMCs collected longitudinally. Isolating PBMCs from blood is a resource intensive
procedure. However, there is great value added by having access to frozen PBMCs to study the
activity of the immune system during COVID-19. We have favored the collection of PBMCs
in hospitalized and ambulatory patients, including longitudinal sampling at multiple days
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Fig 5. Flow chart of BQC19 access process. The chart illustrates the steps required to gain access to BQC19 data only
(A) or biological material and data (B).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.g005
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Fig 6. Longitudinal distribution of BQC19 participants. The number of participants to the hospitalized cohort (A) and to the non-hospitalized cohort (B) at each time
point of sampling is given above each bar. Of note, for the hospitalized cohort, follow-up visits are calculated after patient hospital discharge and for the non-hospitalized
cohort, follow-up visits are calculated after patients diagnosis (PCR confirmed). Black bars represent SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive cases while grey bars represent
SARS-CoV-2 PCR negative controls. Data as of March 19, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.g006
following recruitment. While not all sites were able to do this collection, we nevertheless have
multiple longitudinal cryopreserved PBMCs samples, a distinctive valuable resource that will
help to better understand the role of circulating immune cells in SARS-CoV-2 infection and
the development of COVID-19. In addition, PBMCs could also be reprogrammed into
induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) to generate in vitro models, such as, organoids to better
understand the disease pathophysiology.
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Population profile. The majority of data and samples collected to date are from the Montreal region, which was one of the worst hit cities in Canada during the spring 2020 wave.
Montreal is a cosmopolitan city, with a multicultural and multiethnic population. The BQC19
multicentric design allows, in addition, the collection of data and samples from participants of
other regions of the Québec province. This wide coverage of Quebec’s population may take
advantage of the inclusion of some population profiles that are much less diverse from a
genetic point of view. For example, the BQC19 includes participants from the Saguenay-LacSt-Jean region, well-recognized as a founder population [2–4] that has been demonstrably useful in genetic studies of Mendelian traits [5]. Moreover, while the current framework is targeted to the adult population, BQC19 is integrated with a multicentric pediatric biobank led
by one of Montréal’s pediatric hospitals, the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine
(CHUSJ). This means that within BQC19, access to pediatric data and biosamples is also available, and extension of the recruitment of maternal biosamples and data is planned.
Core analyses. In view of the limited availability of biosamples and to support the greatest
accessibility to analytical/experimental data to the research community, the BQC19, with the
support of its funding agencies, has established a plan for core analyses of a large subset of biosamples that include performing whole genome sequencing, genome-wide association studies,
transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, circulating inflammatory marker profiling and
serology (titers of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, including neutralization activities) using the same
technologies for all samples. These analyses are summarized in Table 4. They will be directly
integrated into BQC19 database and will be available to all authorized researchers to access.
Open science. As stated, the core of the BQC19 mission is the sharing of data with the
entire research community in respect of its ethical and legal obligations. This includes the
requirement that all users return analytical and experimental data obtained with BQC19 biosamples to the biobank for other researchers to access. This is a condition of BQC19 usage and
is an investment in its future wealth as a sustainable resource. The BQC19 fully subscribes to
the Statement of data sharing in public health emergencies (https://wellcome.org/coronaviruscovid-19/open-data).
Future directions
Recruitment. Following the first wave of the pandemic, additional financial support from
the Public Health Agency of Canada was secured to support the expansion of its activities to
non-hospitalized participants. This phase of recruitment has begun and aims to add asymptomatic or mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 to the BQC19 resources. Moreover, as of writing of this manuscript, infections are on the rise again in Quebec, and BQC19 pursues its
recruitment for both out- and in-patients. The second wave is characterized by a much higher
proportion of confirmed cases in individuals in the 20–49 age group (https://www.quebec.ca/
en/health/health-issues/a-z/2019-coronavirus/situation-coronavirus-in-quebec/#c63039).
Recruitment of this population will broaden the age spectrum within BQC19 and enable more
comprehensive studies looking at COVID-19 throughout the life span. This is in addition to
the current integration with the pediatric arm of BQC19.
Networking. Finally, a key to overcoming challenges posed by the current pandemic is
open collaboration. In addition to its policy on open science and making all biobank documentation freely available via its website, BQC19 is actively pursuing partnership with other
initiatives at national and international levels. This includes networking with other biobanking
initiatives in Canada (Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) like CanCov
(https://cancov.net) as well as with large population cohorts, such as CARTaGENE (www.
cartagene.qc.ca) and the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA, www.clsa-elcv.ca).
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Table 4. BQC19 planned core analyses.
Type of analysis
Objective of the analysis
Genome-wide genotyping & Whole genome
sequencing
Identification of genetic variants in the host genome and genetic
variations such as changes in the copy number of certain genes
(genome-wide sequencing) as well as common genetic variations
across the genome (genome-wide genotyping) associated with
COVID-19. The results will allow studies on the susceptibility and
risk of developing a severe form of the disease.
Viral genome sequencing
This analysis will provide a better understanding of the propagation
of the pandemic n and the different strains of virus identified. These
data can also be correlated with disease severity and immune
responses as well as with host genome sequencing.
Proteomic (1)
The simultaneous measurement of approximately 5000 proteins
using the SomaScan technology from SomaLogic in the collected
samples shall provide data to predict the risk of disease progression.
This technology was chosen because of the large number of proteins
measured in a single sample.
Proteomic (2) Circulating markers
This approach is complementary to SomaScan above and will allow
the measurement of established markers of inflammation/disease
activity using a very specific and sensitive technique. These data will
allow a better understanding of the biology of patient responses to
disease and help guide future treatment.
Core hospital laboratory analysis for
outpatients (non-hospitalized cohort)
These analyses will allow basic blood tests to be performed on nonhospitalized patients and will provide important data for research on
participants in both cohorts. This includes baseline values for liver,
heart and kidney damage, as well as standard inflammation
parameters.
Metabolomic
Establishing the plasma metabolome will complement the proteomic
data and will enhance capacity to identify/predict individuals at risk
of developing severe disease and favouring a deeper understanding
of the molecular pathways regulating the various clinical trajectories.
Serology
This analysis will allow for very detailed and quantitative
measurement of specific antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in
affected patients, well beyond standard serological tests, as well as
the ability of these antibodies to neutralize the virus. This will help
guide research on the immune response of patients to COVID-19, a
key element in the management of the disease.
Transcriptomic
Transcriptomic gene signatures have been associated with other viral
diseases with cellular and immune responses, the pathogenesis of the
disease and the trajectory of infection. Transcriptomic analyses
performed on participants’ RNA extracted from whole blood will
generate important data in this area for COVID-19.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245031.t004
These networking efforts are key in enhancing the scientific community’s research capacity.
Moreover, via collaboration with nation-wide COVID-19 genomic initiatives in Canada, such
as HostSeq (www.cgen.ca/project-overview) or VirusSeq (www.genomecanada.ca/en/
cancogen/cancogen-virusseq), BQC19 aims to provide for as many participants as possible,
the host and SARS-CoV-2 genomic data isolated by the “Laboratoire de Santé Publique du
Québec” since the beginning of COVID-19 testing in Québec. This integration will create a
comprehensive and rich data bank, enabling innovative studies on host-pathogen interactions
at the genetic level.
Conclusion
BQC19 is a COVID-19 dedicated biobank which has been designed to prospectively capture
data and samples from a large number of SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive and negative controls
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during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have already approved access to data or biological material to more than a dozen investigators in the first few months of operations. By providing
access to the research community to clinical data as well as data derived from in-depth multiomic analyses on the first 2000 samples, we are forecasting (and encouraging) an exponential
increase in requests of this valuable and non-depletable resource. BQC19 is a critical infrastructure to study the molecular and clinical determinants of COVID-19 susceptibility, severity and outcomes.
Supporting information
S1 File.
(DOCX)
S2 File.
(DOCX)
Acknowledgments
Authors are grateful to all participants for their essential and valuable contribution. We would
also like to acknowledge the financial support from the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé
(FRQS), Genome Québec and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). In addition, we
would like to thank Rémi Quirion (Québec chief scientist, FRQ), Serge Marchand (Génome
Québec) and Pascal Michel (scientific adviser, PHAC). Special thanks to BQC19 staff, Pascale
Léon (manager), Mylène Bertrand (coordinator) and Doris Ransy (access officer). Michael
Lang, Academic Associate, Centre of Genomics and Policy, McGill University, for his editorial
contribution.
The BQC19 group is led by Dr. Vincent Mooser (BQC19 director, vincent.mooser@mcgill.
ca) is composed of numerous health professionals, researchers and other highly qualified personnel contributors listed below according to their primary affiliation. Each partner or institution are listed in alphabetical order as well as each contributor (by last name). Centre
hospitalier universitaire de Québec: François Belleau, David Bellemare, Olivier Costerousse,
Philippe Després, Ève Dubé, Martin Godbout, Samantha Jacques, Patrick Laplante, Vincent
Raymond, Serge Rivest, Hugo Noël-Thiboutot. Centre hospitalier universitaire de l’Université
de Montréal: Pascale Arlotto, Fatna Benettaib, Dounia Boumahni, Nathalie Brassard, MarieÈve Cantin, Annie Chamberland, Madeleine Durand, Camille Craig, Andrés Finzi, Ali Ghamraoui, Nakome N Guissan, Juliana Lanza, Stéphanie Matte, Marc Messier-Peet, Livia PinheiroCarvalho, Alexandre Prat, Vincent Poitout, Maya Salame, Martine Sauvé. Centre hospitalier
universitaire de l’Université de Sherbrooke: William Fraser, Annie Laventure, Christine RiouxPerreault, Karine Tremblay. Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine: Isabelle Boucoiran,
Lucy Clayton, Sylvie Cossette, Mariana Dumitrascu, Mary-Ellen French, Simon JacquesRicard, Philippe Jouvet, Jean-Sébastien Joyal, Vincent Laguë, Ariane Larouche, Jacques
Michaud, Hugo Soudeyns. Centre intégré universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Saguenay-Lac-Satin-Jean: Christian Allard, Donald Aubin, Audrey Baril, Jean-François BetalaBelinga, Jean-Sébastien Bilodeau, Cynthia Bouchard, Luigi Bouchard, Isabelle Boulianne,
Marie-Ève Dubeau, Marco Duchesne, Martin Fortin, Hélène Gagné, Ann-Lorie Gagnon,
Christine Gagnon, François Gagnon, Maude Gagnon, Caroline Giroux, Doria Grimard, Sharon Hatcher, Guillaume Jourdan, Julie Labbé, Marlène Landry, Julie Larouche, Vanessa Larouche, Myriam Lavoie, Julie Létourneau, Kara Létourneau, Nadia Mior, Louise Poirier,
Stéphanie Potvin, Marie-Andrée Régis, Roger Savard, Ruth St-Gelais, Mélanie Tanguay,
Nancy Tremblay, Véronick Tremblay, Karine Truchon. Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont/
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Centre intégré universitaire de santé et services sociaux de l’Est-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal: DenisClaude Roy, Martin Sirois, Danae Tassy, Jan Alexis Tremblay. Hôpital Sacré-Cœur/Centre intégré universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Nord-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal: Christine Arsenault,
Kim Beauchesne, Sylvie Beaulieu, Paul Bergeron, Mariane Bertagnolli, Caroline Bouchard,
Yiorgos Alexandros Cavayas, Marie-Laure Dablaka, Anatolie Ducas, Mathilde Duplaix, MarcAndré Gagné, Kim Gilbert, Julie Hammamji, Anne-Marie Ledoux, Claudia Ménard, Sébastien
Saucier, Daniel Sinnett, Carla Sterlin, Virginie Williams. Institut universitaire en santé mentale
Douglas/Centre intégré universitaire de santé et services sociaux du Ouest-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal:
Sylvanne Daniels, Nadir Hadid, Amine Saadi, Volodymyr Yerko. Jewish General Hospital: Tala
Abdullah, Olumide Adeleye, Darin Adra, Jonathan Afilalo, Marc Afilalo, Zaman Afrasiabi,
Noor Almamlouk, Amanda Babitt, Gerry Batist, Stéphane Benhamou, Bessy Bitzas, Kathleen
Blagrave, Levon Boodaghians, Mariem Bouab, Bluma Brenner, Janet Chan, Jesse Chevrier, Justin Cross, Bianca D’Iorio, Gaby Dipancrazio, Vince Forgetta, Melyssa Fortin, Diane Gaudreau,
Biswarup Ghosh, Celia Greenwood, Charlotte Guzman, Amanda Hakala, Gay Hazan, Danielle
Henry, Esther Kang, Laetitia Laurent, Geneviève Lefebvre, Melanie Leung, Chen Liang, Rod
McInnes, David Morrison, Alexander Ni, Kimchi Nofar, Marianna Olegovna Orlova, Gabriel
Ouellette, Damon Palmer, Louis Petitjean, Nardin Rezk, Jennifer Robinson, Lawrence Rosenberg, Myriam Sahi, Erwin Schurr, Lingqiao Song, Samy Suissa, Phil Troy, Christine Tselios,
Branka Vulesevic, Xiaoqing Xue, You Jia Zhong. Laboratoire de Télématique Biomédicale:
Mina Dligui, Éric Rousseau, Yvan Fortier. McGill University: David Anderson, Alexandre
Belisle, Ariane Boisclair, Guillaume Bourque, David Buckeridge, David Bujold, Elizabeth
Caron, Martha Crago, Corinne Darmond, Ksenia Egorova, Tim Evans, Philippe Gros, Peter
Ho, Tony Kwan, David Langlais, Mark Lathrop, Claire Le Moigne, Pierre Lepage, Markus
Munter, Guillaume Lesage, Kristina Öhrvall, Antoine Paccard, Ioannis Ragoussis, Maryam
Rajaee, Janick Saint-Cyr, Rob Sladek, Alfredo Staffa, Patrick Willett. McGill University Health
Centre: Maria Bazan, Nick Bertos, Julie Bérubé, Miguel Burnier, Melissa Gaudet, Marie Hirtle,
Marianne Issac, Bruce Mazer, Geoffrey McKay, Andrea Mogas, Naiana Muntini, Brigitte
Paquet, Hansi Peiris, Anna Perez, Ciriaco Piccirillo, Rhyan Pineda, Lucie Roussel, Sandeep
Vanamala, Rosemary Wagner. National Microbiology Lab: Guillaume Poliquin. Quebec Heart
and Lung Institute: Sabrina Biardel, Jamila Chakir, Stéphanie Gormley, Philippe Joubert,
Christine Racine, Denis Richard. Réseau Québécois COVID-19 –Pandémie: Vincent Dumez,
Amélie Forget, François Lamontagne. Touché Créations: François Brouillet. Université du Québec à Chicoutimi: Stéphane Allaire, Jessica Bélanger, Anne-Marie Boucher-Lafleur, Marie-Ève
Bradette-Hébert, Yves Chiricota, Frédéric Desgagné, Claire Fournier, Sandra Lessard, MarieJosée Roy, Claude Thibeault.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel Auld, Michaël
Chassé, Emilia Liana Falcone, François Gros-Louis, Carole Jabet, Yann Joly, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Catherine Laprise, Catherine Larochelle, Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, Alexandre Montpetit, Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Donald C. Vinh, Vincent Mooser.
Data curation: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Daniel Auld, Michaël Chassé, Emilia Liana
Falcone, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Donald C.
Vinh, Vincent Mooser.
Formal analysis: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Daniel Auld, Michaël Chassé, Emilia
Liana Falcone, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Vincent
Mooser.
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Funding acquisition: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel Auld,
Michaël Chassé, Daniel Coderre, Carole Jabet, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Catherine Laprise,
Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Donald C. Vinh, Vincent Mooser.
Investigation: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel Auld, Michaël
Chassé, Emilia Liana Falcone, Nicolas Gauthier, François Gros-Louis, Daniel E. Kaufmann,
Catherine Laprise, François Maltais, Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Alexis F.
Turgeon, Gustavo Turecki, Donald C. Vinh, Han Ting Wang, Vincent Mooser.
Methodology: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel Auld, Michaël
Chassé, Emilia Liana Falcone, Nicolas Gauthier, Yann Joly, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Catherine
Laprise, François Maltais, Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, Alexandre Montpetit, Alain Piché, J.
Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Alexis F. Turgeon, Donald C. Vinh, Vincent Mooser.
Project administration: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel Auld,
Michaël Chassé, Daniel Coderre, Emilia Liana Falcone, Nicolas Gauthier, Nathalie Grandvaux, François Gros-Louis, Carole Jabet, Yann Joly, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Catherine
Laprise, Catherine Larochelle, François Maltais, Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, Alexandre
Montpetit, Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Alexis F. Turgeon, Gustavo Turecki, Donald C. Vinh, Han Ting Wang, Vincent Mooser.
Resources: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Michaël Chassé, Daniel
Coderre, Carole Jabet, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Anne-Marie Mes-Masson, Alain Piché, J.
Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Alexis F. Turgeon, Gustavo Turecki, Vincent Mooser.
Software: Michaël Chassé.
Supervision: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel Auld, Michaël
Chassé, Emilia Liana Falcone, Nicolas Gauthier, Daniel E. Kaufmann, François Maltais,
Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Alexis F. Turgeon, Gustavo Turecki, Han Ting
Wang, Vincent Mooser.
Validation: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Michaël Chassé, Catherine
Larochelle, J. Brent Richards.
Visualization: Karine Tremblay, Michaël Chassé, Catherine Larochelle, J. Brent Richards,
Vincent Mooser.
Writing – original draft: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Sze Man Tse.
Writing – review & editing: Karine Tremblay, Simon Rousseau, Ma’n H. Zawati, Daniel
Auld, Michaël Chassé, Emilia Liana Falcone, Nicolas Gauthier, Nathalie Grandvaux, François Gros-Louis, Yann Joly, Daniel E. Kaufmann, Catherine Laprise, Catherine Larochelle,
François Maltais, Alexandre Montpetit, Alain Piché, J. Brent Richards, Sze Man Tse, Donald C. Vinh, Vincent Mooser.
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