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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All stories
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
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
Michael Houghton posing for a photo.
podcast
Alberta
Michael Houghton’s 30-year quest to cure Hepatitis C
After discovering the Hep C virus in 1989, Houghton is now closing in on a vaccine for the potentially fatal disease

Catherine Girard poses with line drawing illustrations around her.
podcast
Québec
Dealing with mercury in food
PhD student, Catherine Girard, studies the impact of mercury in country food in the North
Illustration of four men in business suits rowing a vessel shaped like an arrow. A fifth man, standing in front of them, shouts from a megaphone.
podcast
Episode six: The way forward
The final episode of our podcast series takes stock of where the CFI is today and where innovation in Canada needs to be 20 years from now
Three rows of round icons display a variety of bacteria and virus illustrations.
podcast
Ontario
Keeping antibiotics ahead of infectious diseases
Gerry Wright talks about the problems with promiscuous bacteria and how antibiotics resistance could affect the future of medicine
Illustration of a group of men and women running up a mountain. The leader is waving a Canadian flag.
podcast
Episode five: A new research strategy for Canada
A continuation of our podcast series that traces the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s unlikely origin story
A vector graphic of opened head symbol with researchers and research infrastructure inside over the CFI logo on red background.
podcast
The CFI's origin story
This is the origin story of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, an organization dedicated to the future, that was born at a time when the country was heavily burdened by its past