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. 

Photo of two women researchers wearing personal protective equipment in a lab

Research at the ready during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic underlined the important role Canadian labs play in helping researchers tackle global crises as they arise
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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
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Portrait of Chukwunonso Nzelu
podcast
Alberta
Tiny fly, deadly bite
Leishmaniasis is a devastating disease that kills tens-of-thousands of people every year. By studying the sandflies that transmit it, the University of Calgary’s Chukwunonso Nzelu is helping to zero in on a vaccine
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video
Revolutionizing construction
A Quebec company has created a construction product that lets builders reach new heights and gives the forestry industry a new way to make money and increase employment
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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.
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