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 illustration of a robot hand holding an apple, which is in a spotlight, by its stem and two people working on screens on a backdrop of electric circuits.

Now is the time: Elevating Black people in STEMM

An interview with Maydianne Andrade, inaugural president of the Canadian Black Scientists Network, about the persistent obstacles Black people encounter in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine
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An illustration of a robot hand holding an apple, which is in a spotlight, by its stem and two people working on screens on a backdrop of electric circuits.
article
Ontario
Now is the time: Elevating Black people in STEMM
An interview with Maydianne Andrade, inaugural president of the Canadian Black Scientists Network, about the persistent obstacles Black people encounter in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine
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podcast
Québec
How using sound to treat disease is music to one researcher’s ears
Simone Dalla Bella of Montréal’s International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research asks “How can music help us in our daily tasks? And how can it slow down the deleterious effects of diseases such as Parkinson’s?”
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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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Two people, one standing, one seated in a grassy area with pieces of research equipment around them.
article
Saskatchewan, Ontario
Mounting an early warning system for Canada’s looming water crisis, through the Global Water Futures Observatories
A network of observation systems across the country’s freshwater basins provides urgently needed data to help ward off the devastating impacts of floods, droughts and other water crises plaguing Canada
A person in a lab coat looks closely at an apparatus that is part of a black and grey machine in a lab.
article
Alberta, Québec, Ontario, British Columbia
Tweaking biology for health and biotech solutions, at GlycoNet Integrated Services
A pan-Canadian network of over 170 researchers brings together the country’s expertise in the field of glycomics to create solutions in medicine and other bio-based industries
Aerial view of at least six lakes surrounded by forest.
article
Ontario
Keeping pollution in check, at the world’s freshwater laboratory
A network of lakes in Ontario provides a globally unique perspective on how human activity affects lakes and watersheds, so we can find ways to preserve them
A close-up view of a jewel-toned flying insect.
article
Ontario
Cataloguing all the world’s living things, at the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics
The University of Guelph is building a powerful inventory of every species on Earth in an effort to monitor and conserve biodiversity in the face of crisis
A close-up view of a vacuum chamber with several points of light in focus inside a circular window.
article
Québec
Making movies of matter as it changes, with the Advanced Laser Light Source
Researchers at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique use Canada’s most powerful laser to probe everything from how plants grow to how metals behave under stress
Distant galaxies appear as bright glowing spots in this Webb telescope image, with some smeared by gravitational lensing; foreground stars appear bright with six-pointed diffraction spikes, owing to the shape of Webb's mirrors.
article
Québec
How Canadian research could help determine if we are alone in the universe
The James Webb Space Telescope has a uniquely Canadian invention aboard that, with help from research on the ground, reveals the composition of the atmosphere of planets outside our solar system and their potential to harbour life
Four portraits laid out in a 2 by 2 formation over a white background with blue circles.
podcast
Ontario, British Columbia
Social justice for a more empathetic world
Four inspiring researchers talk about how knowledge and understanding can create a more just tomorrow, from climate activism to social justice learning to queer rights to public health and wellbeing
UBC researcher Anna Blakney poses for a photo.
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
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?
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
An apparatus holds two small rectangular glass slides with coloured lines.
article
Alberta
Applying quantum technology to solve some of our toughest real-world problems
University of Calgary partnerships exploring how quantum research can help to address “hard problems”
A vessel the size and shape of a surfboard with an apparatus attached glides on the surface of the ocean with a ship in the background.
article
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
Tracking the North Atlantic right whale
Ocean Tracking Network leveraging new technology to track whales and design interventions