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. 

Low buildings and homes along a flat shoreline with water in the foreground.

Biskaabiiyang: Rebuilding power and authority for sovereign Indigenous Nations

Research into traditional forms of Indigenous governance will explore the resurgence of roles held by Indigenous youth, women, Two Spirit and trans folx
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A row of zebra finches with bright orange beaks perch in a tight huddle along a long branch.
article
Québec
Why (and how) the songbird sings
Listening to what finches can teach us about our own neurobiology and how we acquire language
All articles
A person wearing a coat in an empty field, posing for a photo.
podcast
Québec
Getting fired up about the Arctic
Alexandre Langlois is passionate about all aspects of his job. As a researcher in Northern Canada, he studies the fastest-warming place on the planet and the problems that arise as the climate changes.
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 person wearing a coat in an empty field, posing for a photo.
podcast
Québec
Getting fired up about the Arctic
Alexandre Langlois is passionate about all aspects of his job. As a researcher in Northern Canada, he studies the fastest-warming place on the planet and the problems that arise as the climate changes.
University of Alberta researcher Carla Prado poses for a photo.
podcast
Alberta
Using the power of nutrition to treat those living with cancer
Carla Prado left her native Brazil and flew to Alberta in pursuit of a dream. Now, she is a globally recognized researcher who advocates for incorporating nutrition into the treatment of cancer.
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?”
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
Four portraits laid out in a 2 by 2 formation over a white background with blue circles.
podcast
Ontario,British Columbia
Social justice for a more empathetic world
Four inspiring researchers talk about how knowledge and understanding can create a more just tomorrow, from climate activism to social justice learning to queer rights to public health and wellbeing
UBC researcher Anna Blakney poses for a photo.
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
Robert J. Sawyer makes the Vulcan salute to an off-camera audience
podcast
Sci-fi writer Robert Sawyer imagines the future of Canadian science
This country’s extraordinary real-life research facilities provide a wondrous backdrop for Sawyer’s imagined futures, proving you don’t have to stray far from home to be inspired by leading-edge science
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
Portrait of Annie Castonguay
podcast
Better molecules for better medicine
Annie Castonguay, a researcher at Quebec’s Institut national de la recherche scientifique, works to mobilize metals to destroy cancer cells and drug-resistant bacteria when traditional antibiotics and cancer treatments fall short
PhD student Sheena Gurm stands surrounded by line drawings depicting strands of DNA
podcast
Manitoba
Seeking a treatment for ALS
PhD student Sheena Gurm looks deep into brain cells for clues to a deadly disease
A robot hand holds a glowing, stylized atom
podcast
British Columbia,Ontario,Nova Scotia,Québec
The solace of quantum
Sub-atomic research portends a second digital revolution that could solve some of our most vexing problems
Photo of Trafford Simpson, professor of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo
podcast
Ontario
Sight for sore eyes
Trefford Simpson investigates how — and why — our eyes feel pain