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 vector illustration including an assortment of items related to research and communication divided by red, white and blue rectangular shapes.

10,000 ways

A CFI-produced podcast about curiosity, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery.
Listen to all episodes
A panorama of a snowy, treeless landscape taken from on top of a snow machine with a meteorological tower and its guy-wires visible.
article
Northwest Territories
Can wind power the North?
Researchers at Aurora College’s Research Institute are using portable LiDAR scanners to help find the answer
All articles
McMaster University researcher Leyla Soleymani poses for a photo.
podcast
Ontario
Rapid diagnostics: Nano discoveries and mega results
McMaster researcher Leyla Soleymani looks to the tiny world of nanotech to make some very big discoveries
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
All videos

All stories

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
A jar of yellow liquid arranged with herbs and a bowl of peppercorns
article
Ontario
Booming business in bone broth
A burgeoning new food company all started with a desire to get healthier and a little help from food scientists at Niagara College
An illustration of a woman with white hair sitting up in a hospital bed gazing toward a window
article
Nova Scotia
Understanding the challenges in how we care for our elderly
As COVID-19 magnifies problems in Canada’s long-term care centres, researchers at Mount Saint Vincent University are informing policies to make improvements