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. 

Hand-drawn portraits of various women.

Celebrating women at the forefront

A collection of stories about talented researchers to mark the International Day of Girls and Women in Science (February 11) and International Women’s Day (March 8)
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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?
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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
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
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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?
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
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