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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A rocky outcrop with low brush in the foreground with a silver cylindrical building in the middle ground behind a fence and a large domed structure in the background
article
Manitoba
Sea ice dynamics
University of Manitoba researchers look to the Churchill Marine Observatory for answers about a changing climate
Four people crouch on a yellow grass-covered hill looking down toward a specimen
article
Alberta
Searching for new cures with Western and Traditional Knowledge
Traditional Indigenous Knowledge helps guide the Prairie to Pharmacy initiative’s quest to fill Canada’s gap in natural product research and find new cancer drugs in prairie plants
A photo of Christian Messier examining a plant on the forest floor is inlaid over an aerial photo of a green field divided into squares
article
Québec
Christian Messier has found his field of dreams
A world-renowned specialist in forest management and biodiversity pays colourful tribute to the living organisms we call trees.
A digital scan of a human brain
article
Ontario
Changing our approach to brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Canadian researchers are making links between the immune system and brain disease to develop better treatments for neurological disorders
An orange laptop on an orange background
article
Manitoba
New digital archive will be a record of Canada’s residential school history
Archiving millions of documents to catalogue part of this country’s history and serve as a profound tool for understanding its legacy for Indigenous people
A dark blue starry sky
article
Ontario
3D printing in space could help astronauts and Earth-bound humans alike
By determining how to get 3D printing to work in space, researchers could not only cut costs and emissions for space exploration, but could also find new medical applications
A thin white line on the horizon separates a wide expanse of blue ocean from a blue sky
article
Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia
Probing the North Atlantic for clues to climate-change impacts
Researchers will deploy high-tech floating sensors to get a clearer picture of the changing chemistry and productivity of warming oceans — and what it means for fisheries
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.