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. 

A vector illustration including an assortment of items related to research and communication divided by red, white and blue rectangular shapes.

10,000 ways

A CFI-produced podcast about curiosity, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery.
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A panorama of a snowy, treeless landscape taken from on top of a snow machine with a meteorological tower and its guy-wires visible.
article
Northwest Territories
Can wind power the North?
Researchers at Aurora College’s Research Institute are using portable LiDAR scanners to help find the answer
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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
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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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
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