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. 

A close-up photo of taillights of a car and a transport truck at the back of a long line of traffic.

Choosing the right route to lower traffic emissions

By profiling tailpipe emissions and creating community-specific transportation models, researchers will help cities reach their net-zero mobility goals faster — even in sub-zero temperatures
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Several hands hold up an illustrated ball of houses against a cloudy sky.
article
New Brunswick
Tackling the many dimensions of New Brunswick’s housing crisis
How one social science lab — with a few well-placed couches — is bringing stakeholders together to address the intersecting issues of housing affordability, mental health and food security
All articles
York University researcher Pirathayini Srikantha poses for a photo.
podcast
Ontario
Reinforcing the reliability of our vulnerable electricity grid
York University's Pirathayini Srikantha studies power grid systems with the aim of keeping Canada’s infrastructure safe from fluctuations and hackers. Find out why she’s passionate about power.
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 graphic of many white dots connected by blue lines, arranged in the shape of a brain
article
How remembering happens
Sheena Josselyn at Toronto’s SickKids hospital is figuring out how one memory triggers another, with important implications for treating things like post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia

Bright orange flames and dark grey smoke engulf a coniferous forest
article
Québec
Forecasting future forest fires
Université Laval’s Steven Cumming uses sophisticated computer models to predict how a warming climate will influence forest fires in southern Quebec. The results aren’t what you might expect.
The soles of a child’s blue rubber boots, caked in mud
article
British Columbia
Let them eat dirt
The University of British Columbia’s Brett Finlay demonstrated that microbes might protect children against asthma, more evidence that exposure to bacteria keeps us healthy
Still from video of two snow removal trucks being deployed
video
Québec
A safeguard against potholes
A new feat of engineering will prevent snowplough vehicles from damaging our roads
2 researchers being interviewed with one of them holding an enlarged replica of a molecule.
video
Québec
Improving treatment for blood diseases
A new molecule that stimulates the reproduction of stem cells will help treat a larger number of patients with blood diseases
Young man falling on a large purple mattress, wearing a helmet and protective pads, while researchers in the back of the falling laboratory monitor the impact of his fall on a computer.
video
British Columbia
How to prevent falls
Researchers at Simon Fraser University are analyzing how people fall with the aim of preventing injuries
An conceptual image of a finger touching a free-floating screen, with action icons streaming out the back.
article
Québec
It’s clear as glass
By integrating microscopic ducts into the glass that screens are made of, researchers have developed an amazing interface
A tiny baby's dark eyes and nose peak out from the blanket she's swaddled in, her little fingers grip the edge.
article
Québec
Combating premature births
Births before 37 weeks are linked to early intrauterine inflammation. Researchers have developed a molecule that inhibits this.
A graphic of a blue gear containing the male symbol and a pink gear containing the female symbol.
article
Québec
For sex equality
Until now, experiments to understand chronic pain used mostly male mice. To scientists’ surprise, however, females react differently. Our way of understanding pain circuitry is changing...
Lightning arcs between two skyscrapers in a nighttime city scape
article
Québec
Taming lightning
A physicist has mastered one of nature’s most impressive forces in his laboratory, setting the stage for multiple applications
Tour guide and taxi driver, Bill Baker, poses in front of the synchrotron beamlines inside the Canadian Light Source
video
Saskatchewan
Research builds my local community
Saskatoon cab drivers introduce visitors to their city’s pride and joy: the Canadian Light Source
Andrew Pelling, wearing a microphone, points to a slice of apple in a petri dish.
article
Ontario
Growing body parts from plants
Inspired by movies like Little Shop of Horrors and The Matrix, Andrew Pelling’s University of Ottawa lab is all about taking the most audacious ideas and turning them into reality