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. 

An outdoor scene at dusk with a stone pavilion and several tipis arranged in a circle with bleachers.

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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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
All podcasts
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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Bright orange flames and dark grey smoke engulf a coniferous forest
article
Quebec

Forecasting future forest fires

Université Laval’s Steven Cumming uses sophisticated computer models to predict how a warming climate will influence forest fires in southern Quebec. The results aren’t what you might expect.
The soles of a child’s blue rubber boots, caked in mud
article
British Columbia

Let them eat dirt

The University of British Columbia’s Brett Finlay demonstrated that microbes might protect children against asthma, more evidence that exposure to bacteria keeps us healthy
Still from video of two snow removal trucks being deployed
video
Quebec

A safeguard against potholes

A new feat of engineering will prevent snowplough vehicles from damaging our roads
2 researchers being interviewed with one of them holding an enlarged replica of a molecule.
video
Quebec

Improving treatment for blood diseases

A new molecule that stimulates the reproduction of stem cells will help treat a larger number of patients with blood diseases
Young man falling on a large purple mattress, wearing a helmet and protective pads, while researchers in the back of the falling laboratory monitor the impact of his fall on a computer.
video
British Columbia

How to prevent falls

Researchers at Simon Fraser University are analyzing how people fall with the aim of preventing injuries
An conceptual image of a finger touching a free-floating screen, with action icons streaming out the back.
article
Quebec

It’s clear as glass

By integrating microscopic ducts into the glass that screens are made of, researchers have developed an amazing interface
A tiny baby's dark eyes and nose peak out from the blanket she's swaddled in, her little fingers grip the edge.
article
Quebec

Combating premature births

Births before 37 weeks are linked to early intrauterine inflammation. Researchers have developed a molecule that inhibits this.
A graphic of a blue gear containing the male symbol and a pink gear containing the female symbol.
article
Quebec

For sex equality

Until now, experiments to understand chronic pain used mostly male mice. To scientists’ surprise, however, females react differently. Our way of understanding pain circuitry is changing...
Lightning arcs between two skyscrapers in a nighttime city scape
article
Quebec

Taming lightning

A physicist has mastered one of nature’s most impressive forces in his laboratory, setting the stage for multiple applications
Tour guide and taxi driver, Bill Baker, poses in front of the synchrotron beamlines inside the Canadian Light Source
video
Saskatchewan

Research builds my local community

Saskatoon cab drivers introduce visitors to their city’s pride and joy: the Canadian Light Source
Andrew Pelling, wearing a microphone, points to a slice of apple in a petri dish.
article
Ontario

Growing body parts from plants

Inspired by movies like Little Shop of Horrors and The Matrix, Andrew Pelling’s University of Ottawa lab is all about taking the most audacious ideas and turning them into reality
A vector graphic of opened head symbol with researchers and research infrastructure inside over the CFI logo on red background.
podcast

The CFI's origin story

This is the origin story of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, an organization dedicated to the future, that was born at a time when the country was heavily burdened by its past