Article

Canada Research Chairs receive more than $6.4 million in research infrastructure support

Funding partnership helps strengthen university research efforts across the country

OTTAWA, ON —Canada’s universities must be able to equip their researchers with the tools they need to tackle global challenges. At a time of increased global competition for bright minds and a more mobile workforce, they need to be attractive career destinations for the very best of today’s and tomorrow’s researchers.

To support them in this pursuit, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has provided more than $6.4 million to 29 Canada Research Chairs at 19 universities across the country for the cutting-edge labs and equipment they need to pursue their important work. The total includes close to $1.5 million under the CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund to help institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.

Read: Government of Canada makes major investment in Canadian science, research and engineering

The CFI-funded infrastructure is supporting research that aims to develop lung cancer therapies, improve mobility in older adults, and understand wildfire and drought resilience in forests, among other areas.

The CFI is awarding funding through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), in partnership with the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program. The JELF allows universities to attract top talent in diverse fields of research by providing them with the state-of-the art infrastructure required to think big and innovate. The CRC Program is investing more than $125 million towards 156 new and renewed Chairs at 36 institutions across Canada.

Quotes

“The state-of-the-art research environments the Canada Foundation for Innovation funds help attract the best researchers in the world to Canada. In doing so, we are supporting Canadian innovation and Canadian solutions for the many challenges the world faces today.”

– Roseann O’Reilly Runte, President and CEO, Canada Foundation for Innovation

Quick facts

The total investment of $6,409,889 includes $1,479,205 awarded under the CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund, which assists institutions with operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.
The JELF supports the leading-edge work of a select group of university researchers by providing them with the foundational research infrastructure they require to be, or become, leaders in their fields.
This funding helps institutions remain internationally competitive in areas of research and technology development that are aligned with their strategic priorities.

Quick links

More about the Canada Foundation for Innovation
Details on the CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund
Discover the CFI Research Facilities Navigator: An online database of labs and facilities that are open to working with business

Funding for infrastructure associated with a Canada Research Chair /
Financement de l’infrastructure liée à une Chaire de recherche du Canada

Institution / Établissement	Projects approved / Projets appuyés
Bishop’s University	1
Dalhousie University	1
McGill University	1
McMaster University	3
Ryerson University	1
Simon Fraser University	1
St. Francis Xavier University	1
Thompson Rivers University	1
Trent University	1
Université de Sherbrooke	2
University of British Columbia (The)	6
University of Calgary	1
University of Guelph	1
University of Ontario Institute of Technology	2
University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa	1
University of Toronto	2
University of Waterloo	1
University of Western Ontario (The)	1
Vancouver Island University	1
Total 19 institutions / établissements	29

CUMULATIVE TOTALS

John R. Evans Leaders Fund / Fonds des leaders John-R.-Evans
Funding for infrastructure associated with a Canada Research Chair /
Financement de l’infrastructure liée à une Chaire de recherche du Canada

List of approved projects by institution / Liste des projets appuyés par établissement

Chairholder/ Chaire de recherche	Project title / Titre du projet	Maximum CFI contribution / Contribution maximale de la FCI
Bishop’s University
Ruan, John	New Multi-Wavelength and Multi-Messenger Horizons in Astrophysics	$83,645
Total	1	$83,645
Dalhousie University
Sharma, Anjali	Development of Biocompatible, Disease-directed Dendrimers for Target-specific Drug Delivery and Imaging Applications	$125,000
Total	1	$125,000
McGill University
Thanabalasuriar, Ajitha	Imaging Host-pathogen Interactions in the Pulmonary Environment	194 849 $
Total	1	194 849 $
McMaster University
Beauchamp, Marla	Evidence-based Strategies to Improve Mobility in Older Adults	$150,000
Brown, Eric	Infrastructure for Microbial Chemical Biology	$200,000
Svenningsen, Sarah	Translational Pulmonary Imaging Research Laboratory	$341,914
Total	3	$691,914
Ryerson University
Mashatan, Atefeh	Quality of Security (QoSec) Simulation for Smart Home and Enterprise Systems	$75,093
Total	1	$75,093
Simon Fraser University
Julian, Lisa	High-throughput Stem Cell Phenotyping and Functional Metabolic Analysis Facility	$300,000
Total	1	$300,000
St. Francis Xavier University
Langdon, Jonathan	Translocal Sustainability & Social Change Learning & Collaboration Network	$30,005
Total	1	$30,005
Thompson Rivers University
Harvey, Jill	Wildfire and Drought Resilience in Montane Forests	$74,978
Total	1	$74,978
Trent University
Xenopoulos, Marguerite	Global Change of Freshwater Ecosystems	$127,541
Total	1	$127,541
Université de Sherbrooke
Achouri, Inès Esma	Process Intensification for Advanced Materials and Sustainable Energy	101 195 $
Oweida, Ayman	Radiotherapy for Stimulation of Anti-tumor Immunity	490 087 $
Total	2	591 282 $
University of British Columbia (The)
Gadermann, Anne	A Programmatic Data Platform for Bio-eco-social Population-level Research on Child and Youth Mental Health in BC	$80,000
Hackett, Tillie-Louise	Spatial Single Cell Imaging in the Lung	$125,000
Jessri, Mahsa	UBC Nutritional Epidemiology and Big Data Analytics Laboratory	$125,000
Levings, Megan	CRC in Engineered Immune Tolerance	$125,000
Oviedo-Joekes, Eugenia	Canada Research Chair in Person Centred Innovation in Addictions and Public Health	$125,000
Zwicker, Jill	Pediatric Brain Development & Rehabilitation	$120,384
Total	6	$700,384
University of Calgary
Chu, Li-Fang	Modeling the Human Developmental Clock and Related Disorders	$100,000
Total	1	$100,000
University of Guelph
Cho, Clara	Optimizing Metabolic Health with Methyl Nutrients and their Role in One-carbon and Trimethylamine-N-oxide Metabolism	$124,675
Total	1	$124,675
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Hangan, Horia	Mobile Weather Microphysics System	$75,000
Lewis, Peter	Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Lab	$50,000
Total	2	$125,000
University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa
Yauk, Carole	The Development and Application of Genomic Tools to Modernize Risk Assessment and Protect Human Health	$320,000
Total	1	$320,000
University of Toronto
Schramek, Daniel	Infrastructure for the Study of Functional Cancer Genomics	$320,000
Thu, Kelsie	Lung Cancer Therapy Response	$551,302
Total	2	$871,302
University of Waterloo
Leonard, Kelsey	Chair Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability	$125,000
Total	1	$125,000
University of Western Ontario (The)
Zheng, Ying	Catalytic Intensification Laboratory for Energy Innovations	$253,056
Total	1	$253,056
Vancouver Island University
Sloan, Sean	The Human Dimensions of Sustainability and Resilience (CRC Tier 2) - Supporting Infrastructure	$16,960
Total	1	$16,960
TOTAL	29 projects / projets	$4,930,684

NOTE:
As part of this announcement, an additional $1,479,205 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a mechanism that assists institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.