Research stories

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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. 

Hand-drawn portraits of various women.

Celebrating women at the forefront

A collection of stories about talented researchers to mark the International Day of Girls and Women in Science (February 11) and International Women’s Day (March 8)
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Computer-generated image of a person’s profile, holding their head where their brain is inflamed.
article
Québec
Concussions: A dizzying field of research!
There are 200,000 concussions every year in Canada. If you’re not an elite athlete, your odds of having a concussion are one in 10,000. Professional athletes, on the other hand, will experience three or four by the age of 20. But since there is no way of objectively diagnosing a concussion, and those affected are notoriously reluctant to report their symptoms, the real numbers are likely higher than anyone wants to admit. What stands in the way of acceptance and proper management of concussions?
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podcast
British Columbia
Vaccination consteRNAtion
Anna Blakney wants to share with the world the power and potential of messenger RNA vaccines. She uses TikTok to post facts and fight fears
All podcasts
A laptop sitting on a desk shows four people in a virtual meeting.
video
Traditional Knowledge as a powerful driver in research
Artist and curator, Tania Willard, of the Secwépemc Nation and Chantelle Richmond, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg researcher in Indigenous health and the environment, in conversation with the Right Honourable Paul Martin
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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
Paper strips printed with CMYK colours
article
Québec
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