Research stories

Our investments support research that benefits Canadians

In CFI-funded labs and facilities across the country, researchers in all stages of their careers are making discoveries, supporting a robust innovation ecosystem and helping solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

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Taking research to the next level with artificial intelligence

How researchers in Canada are turbo-charging their research with artificial intelligence to solve problems, from traffic jams to climate change to discovering new pharmaceuticals
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An outdoor scene at dusk with a stone pavilion and several tipis arranged in a circle with bleachers.
article
Ontario

Wildlife ecology done “in a good way”

Researcher Jesse Popp works alongside Indigenous communities to understand their most pressing questions about biodiversity and the plants and animals on the Land
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podcast
Nova Scotia

Jan Rainey is untangling the mysteries of spider silks

The Dalhousie University researcher is looking to create synthetic versions of spider's silk that have the potential to help heal damaged nerves and damaged hearts
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video

Transforming research instincts into a successful business (March webinar)

Part of our Future You webinar series. This webinar features a new generation of researchers who share their challenges and successes as they made the move from researcher to entrepreneur. Watch the video to gain insights and receive valuable tips on how to start your own business.
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A vessel the size and shape of a surfboard with an apparatus attached glides on the surface of the ocean with a ship in the background.
article
Nova Scotia,New Brunswick

Tracking the North Atlantic right whale

Ocean Tracking Network leveraging new technology to track whales and design interventions
A rocky outcrop with low brush in the foreground with a silver cylindrical building in the middle ground behind a fence and a large domed structure in the background
article
Manitoba

Sea ice dynamics

University of Manitoba researchers look to the Churchill Marine Observatory for answers about a changing climate
Four people crouch on a yellow grass-covered hill looking down toward a specimen
article
Alberta

Searching for new cures with Western and Traditional Knowledge

Traditional Indigenous Knowledge helps guide the Prairie to Pharmacy initiative’s quest to fill Canada’s gap in natural product research and find new cancer drugs in prairie plants
A photo of Christian Messier examining a plant on the forest floor is inlaid over an aerial photo of a green field divided into squares
article
Quebec

Christian Messier has found his field of dreams

A world-renowned specialist in forest management and biodiversity pays colourful tribute to the living organisms we call trees.
A digital scan of a human brain
article
Ontario

Changing our approach to brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

Canadian researchers are making links between the immune system and brain disease to develop better treatments for neurological disorders
An orange laptop on an orange background
article
Manitoba

New digital archive will be a record of Canada’s residential school history

Archiving millions of documents to catalogue part of this country’s history and serve as a profound tool for understanding its legacy for Indigenous people
A dark blue starry sky
article
Ontario

3D printing in space could help astronauts and Earth-bound humans alike

By determining how to get 3D printing to work in space, researchers could not only cut costs and emissions for space exploration, but could also find new medical applications
A thin white line on the horizon separates a wide expanse of blue ocean from a blue sky
article
Newfoundland and Labrador,Nova Scotia

Probing the North Atlantic for clues to climate-change impacts

Researchers will deploy high-tech floating sensors to get a clearer picture of the changing chemistry and productivity of warming oceans — and what it means for fisheries
A pregnant woman holds a glass of water in one hand and a few pills in the other
article
Quebec

Weighing risks and benefits of medication use during pregnancy

Epidemiologists create super database to provide much-needed evidence for which prescriptions are safe, or not, for mom and baby
A graphic of five people holding mobile devices with a cloud of icons denoting various online activities and genders above their heads
article
Ontario

A new normal for LGBTQ+ youth

Researcher Shelley L. Craig has spent decades advocating for LGBTQ+ youth. Her research shows how social media is a lifeline to those growing up queer
Faranak Farzan applies a device to the side of a seated man’s head
article
British Columbia

Seeing mental health and addiction differently

Technologies at the intersection of engineering and neuroscience could help take the trial-and-error out of diagnosing and treating mental illness and addiction in young people, saving valuable time and potentially lives
A view of the top of a woman’s head through the cylinder of a medical imaging machine
article
Quebec

Making medical imaging more accessible with better molecules

Researchers are working with a California company to develop new imaging techniques that are cheaper and easier to manufacture