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.
article
Ontario
Is bad air quality making you sick?
The air you breathe contains thousands of natural and synthetic chemicals. Joseph Okeme is identifying which ones cause chronic diseases.
podcast
New Brunswick
Meet Acadian researcher Céline Surette, for whom interdisciplinarity is second nature
Céline Surette embodies both the chemistry of living things and interdisciplinarity to serve the real needs and questions of communities. And to achieve this, and ensure that critical thinking triumphs, she'll pull out all the stops.
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.
All stories
article
British Columbia
Figuring out what makes shoppers buy or walk away
The choices you make at the mall aren’t always rational. They’re steeped in emotion, from envy to self-esteem. A University of British Columbia lab is taking a closer look at how consumers behave.
article
Alberta,British Columbia
Common cancer, uncommon approach
Not all prostate cancer research is the same, even if it is the most common cancer affecting men
article
Ontario
Refurbishing the hen house
Research is helping egg farmers transition toward new requirements for housing their hens, and minimize their losses along the way
article
Ontario
How improving accessibility can boost the bottom line
Businesses can open their doors to thousands more customers by offering tools to assist people with language impairments
article
Ontario
Transforming Northern Ontario’s forest product sector
New applications for forest by-products are helping to reinvent an industry and boost employment in remote regions of Ontario
article
Ontario
Growing Ontario’s billion-dollar greenhouse industry
Genomics research stands to curb losses of high-value crops to disease
article
Ontario
Scouring the scum to save a lake worth millions
Tackling harmful algae blooms in Lake Nipissing is critical to preserving the local industries that rely on it
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
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
video
Ontario
Wearing his heart(beat) on his sleeve
University of Ottawa professor Benoît Lessard invents electronic sensors that can be woven into the fabric of our clothing
article
British Columbia
Does your social life make you happy?
The University of British Columbia’s Frances Chen uses sophisticated research tools to determine how our social lives — online and otherwise — affect how we feel and behave
video
Newfoundland and Labrador
Freezing on The Rock
Memorial University PhD student Marjan Taghi Boroojerdi seeks to understand the dangers posed by sea ice to ships and off-shore structures