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. 

Strategic investments, national impact

Learn how innovations in areas that matter most to Canadians, including affordable housing, food sovereignty and national security, comes from the research made possible by CFI investments in cutting-edge labs and equipment.
Discover the innovations
SuperDARN antennas with aurora borealis in the sky above.
article
Saskatchewan

Securing Canada’s Arctic sovereignty with early warning radar tech

How a research project designed to study aurora borealis is set to transform Canada’s Arctic surveillance capability
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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.
All videos

All stories

Université de Moncton Faculty of Science dean and researcher Céline Surette
podcast
New Brunswick

Meet Acadian researcher Céline Surette, for whom interdisciplinarity is second nature

Céline Surette embodies both the chemistry of living things and interdisciplinarity to serve the real needs and questions of communities. And to achieve this, and ensure that critical thinking triumphs, she'll pull out all the stops.
Graphic of a human brain done in bright colours resembling an oil painting.
article
Nova Scotia

Navigating the cutting edge of neuroimaging

New tech creates big possibilities, from basic research to brain surgery
Kelsey Leonard posing for a photo in front of a stone wall covered in vines.
podcast
Ontario

Should bodies of water have the same legal status as people?

Researcher Kelsey Leonard, member of the Shinnecock Nation and founder of the Wampum Lab at the University of Waterloo, delves into ocean, water and climate justice.
A bird with a long, reddish bill and flecked brown feathers wades in marshy waters.
article
Ontario

A fresh take on protecting our waters

A wide-ranging survey of aquatic environments in Eastern Ontario will bring together Indigenous and Western Knowledge to find better ways to preserve Canada’s freshwater habitats and species
A wheelchair is strapped in testing equipment in a laboratory.
article
British Columbia,Manitoba

Unlimited access

Researchers combine expertise in engineering and occupational therapy to build wheelchairs that further break down barriers to mobility
A child on a swing against a blue sky.
article
Quebec

Moving beyond surviving to thriving

A new network of eight Canadian universities aims to help make a difference for children and youth exposed to trauma
Prescription pill bottles tipped over with white tablets poured out
article
Alberta

Probing the brain to break the cycle of opioid addiction

New treatments for opioid use disorder are desperately needed — and fast. The answer may lie in existing medications.
An illustration of several hands holding up differently shaped lightbulbs.
article

The power to transform

Our Innovation Fund provides the foundation for world-class, impactful research that is made in Canada
An illustration composed of coloured bars that look like genetic screening radiating from a nucleus of curved covered lines.
article
Quebec

Genetic sleuthing

A state-of-the-art laboratory is leveraging modern and ancient DNA analysis in tandem with genealogical data to fully understand an evolving population
Weathered cottages perch on the edge of a ragged shoreline in Prince Edward Island that was badly eroded by Hurricane Fiona.
article
Prince Edward Island

Coastal scourge

Compounded by a changing climate, severe erosion is scouring Prince Edward Island’s coastline. Researchers are designing an elaborate coastal hazard monitoring and modelling system to help protect the island’s shores from being further flushed out to sea.
A hockey team in orange jerseys poses on the arena ice.
article
Quebec

Unsettling the Canadian hockey story

Collecting the stories of hockey players, builders and fans from Lac Seul First Nation to reveal a different narrative about Indigenous hockey
A stylized line drawing of a woman's torso with one breast highlighted by a coloured circle.
article
Manitoba

Ushering in a new era of breast cancer screening

The discovery of tumour biomarkers paves the way for earlier disease detection through a simple blood test