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. 

Low buildings and homes along a flat shoreline with water in the foreground.

Biskaabiiyang: Rebuilding power and authority for sovereign Indigenous Nations

Research into traditional forms of Indigenous governance will explore the resurgence of roles held by Indigenous youth, women, Two Spirit and trans folx
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A row of zebra finches with bright orange beaks perch in a tight huddle along a long branch.
article
Québec
Why (and how) the songbird sings
Listening to what finches can teach us about our own neurobiology and how we acquire language
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A person wearing a coat in an empty field, posing for a photo.
podcast
Québec
Getting fired up about the Arctic
Alexandre Langlois is passionate about all aspects of his job. As a researcher in Northern Canada, he studies the fastest-warming place on the planet and the problems that arise as the climate changes.
All podcasts
Image of various cellphones on a wooden table displaying photos of researchers.
video
A promising future, now: 25 years of investing in ideas that change our world
The Canada Foundation for Innovation has supported cutting-edge research in Canada for 25 years. In these videos, researchers reflect on how CFI funding has advanced their work and how future generations will benefit. They tell passionate stories of curiosity, commitment and innovation.
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All stories

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
Québec
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
Québec
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
Québec
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
A woman, who is blurred out in the background, holds a mobile phone in the foreground
article
Nova Scotia
The art of persuasive technology
Rita Orji, a computer scientist at Dalhousie University, develops culturally relevant persuasive technologies to promote positive behaviours, from sexual health among young people in Africa to mental wellness during a pandemic.
An illustration of a lineup of people wearing masks and pulling wheeled suitcases
article
Ontario
Resurrecting Canadian travel and tourism
Canada’s multi-billion-dollar hospitality industry was hit hard by COVID-19, but research on tourist behaviour can help restaurants, hotels and airlines win back customers by finding ways to ease their minds
A close up of a vaccine phial besides various superimposed imageswith 3D graphics of a virus layered over a picture of a pair of gloved hands in a laboratory
article
Nova Scotia
Safe facilities will help deliver effective COVID-19 vaccines in eastern Canada
Upgrading two Halifax-area facilities with higher safety measures means researchers in Halifax can develop and test COVID-19 vaccines