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. 

Portrait of Nafissa Ismail professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa.

How neuroendocrinology crosses sectors to create promising new insights

Nafissa Ismail focuses on the effects of hormones on the brain to pin down the interactions between our organs and our emotions
Listen now
Hilary Earl kneels on the floor with her laptop as she prepares for an interview. In the foreground is a video camera.
article

Investigating the causes — and consequences — of war and genocide

How immersive simulation, film, video and podcasting tools are giving Hilary Earl and her colleagues fresh insights into the history of state-sponsored violence
All articles
Portrait of Nafissa Ismail professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa.
podcast
Ontario

How neuroendocrinology crosses sectors to create promising new insights

Nafissa Ismail focuses on the effects of hormones on the brain to pin down the interactions between our organs and our emotions
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.
All videos

All stories

Dark orange flames along the crest of a treed hill with billows of thick grey smoke.
article
Alberta

Blazing a new trail in fire forensics

Many devastating wildfires are human-caused; some are set intentionally. One research lab aims to get to the bottom of how the blazes start to inform arson investigations and prevention measures.
An illustration of a robot hand holding an apple, which is in a spotlight, by its stem and two people working on screens on a backdrop of electric circuits.
article
Ontario

Now is the time: Elevating Black people in STEMM

An interview with Maydianne Andrade, inaugural president of the Canadian Black Scientists Network, about the persistent obstacles Black people encounter in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine
A monochromatic beige illustration of a person sitting arms-crossed on a rock surrounded with water and a blazing sun on the horizon.
article
British Columbia

Changing human behaviour to avert the climate crisis

Researchers at the University of British Columbia are exploring how people of various political stripes respond to the climate crisis — and how to spur collective climate action despite their differences
A yellowish haze creates a silhouette of a person on a bike carrying a heavy load.
article
Ontario

Can a bicycle be a tool for creating gender equality?

Researchers at York University use visual and digital media to explore the connection between physical activity and unequal power relations.
Graphic of a person sitting curled up next to a backpack.
article
British Columbia

Life on the edge

An experiential research project at Simon Fraser University explores the psychology behind our perceptions of poverty
Illustration of arid land where one person holds a shovel and another holds a watering can. Above this scene, a large hand holds a seedling.
article
Ontario

Power, policies and sustainability in the global food system

Today’s industrial approach to agriculture leaves the world dangerously dependent on a few crops and a few companies. Jennifer Clapp wants to change that.
Illustration of a group of people dressed in lab coats gesturing toward a cubic cross section of soil layers with plants growing out of it.
article
Saskatchewan

Climate resilient crops that can do more with less

How researchers are tackling the roots of food insecurity — in a very literal way
Illustration of two people gesturing toward a corn plant with overlaying diagrams including a molecule.
article
Ontario

Blueprints for boosting plant immunity

How sophisticated genomics could help address food insecurity by giving crops an edge in the arms race against pathogens
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
A white swirl of air inside a large enclosure.
article
Ontario

Summoning the storm, at the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Facility

By simulating intense winds and weather, a research facility at Western University tests how buildings will hold up under catastrophic conditions
Two people, one standing, one seated in a grassy area with pieces of research equipment around them.
article
Saskatchewan,Ontario

Mounting an early warning system for Canada’s looming water crisis, through the Global Water Futures Observatories

A network of observation systems across the country’s freshwater basins provides urgently needed data to help ward off the devastating impacts of floods, droughts and other water crises plaguing Canada
A person in a lab coat looks closely at an apparatus that is part of a black and grey machine in a lab.
article
Alberta,Quebec,Ontario,British Columbia

Tweaking biology for health and biotech solutions, at GlycoNet Integrated Services

A pan-Canadian network of over 170 researchers brings together the country’s expertise in the field of glycomics to create solutions in medicine and other bio-based industries