Rebecca Irwin

Position: Director (Retired)

Institution: Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS)

City, Country: Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Role with AMR - One Health Consortium: Scientific Advisory Council Member

Dr. Rebecca 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 has had a long career in working primarily on food safety issues for both the Agriculture and Public Health Departments within the federal government.  She assisted with the development of a national salmonella control program, focussed primarily on Salmonella Enteritidis in the poultry sectors,  This work laid the foundation for a successful Canadian egg production control strategy.  Since 1998 Dr Irwin has worked intensively on the antimicrobial resistance issue and was instrumental in the founding and development of the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS). Dr Irwin was Director of CIPARS since its inception in 2003, until she retired from the Public Service in April of 2020.  She has acted as an expert advisor for the issue of AMR as it relates to the food chain, in Canada and internationally.  She was a ten year member of the WHO Advisory Group on Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, and has provided expertise to meetings hosted by the WTO, FAO, and WHO.  She was head of the Canadian delegation to the CODEX Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance. She was also chair of a risk profile sub committee for the Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance.

For more information on Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS), visit the website below.