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.
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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
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
Paper strips printed with CMYK colours
article
Quebec

Taking the fear out of touch with antiviral inks

Montreal researchers aim to develop inks with anti-pathogenic nanoparticles to make printed surfaces safer
A person puts a hand to their forehead while sitting on the floor and looking at a laptop
article
British Columbia

Virtual reality offers students mental health support

Researchers at the College of New Caledonia study how virtual reality can help students build resilience and learn coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety
Dark liquid flows through a concrete pipe with a river and cityscape visible through the end of the pipe
article
Ontario

Testing sewage to see community infection levels

Researchers at the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research test wastewater as a way of screening whole communities for SARS-CoV-2 and potentially a gamut of other viruses
Viewed from backstage, a group of people on a tour stand on stage looking toward the empty auditorium
article
Saskatchewan

People with disabilities find connection through art

How a lab at the University of Regina combines fine arts and social sciences research to help people with disabilities to express themselves through art
A graphic of lungs criss-crossed with intersecting lines
article
Alberta

Is COVID-19 a vascular disease?

There is mounting evidence that COVID-19 affects blood vessels. If proven, it could change the way we approach treatment. A University of Calgary research team will use specialized microscopes to test the theory
A collage of photos which includes paper strips with the CMYK color code on them, a sewer pipe, a 3d grpahic of the lungs, a person lying down and a vaccine.
article

Canadian COVID-19 research gives us new tools to tackle a pandemic

With a new boost of infrastructure support, researchers are poised to find solutions to the challenges that arose under the pressure of the pandemic