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

A dark blue starry sky
article
Ontario

3D printing in space could help astronauts and Earth-bound humans alike

By determining how to get 3D printing to work in space, researchers could not only cut costs and emissions for space exploration, but could also find new medical applications
A thin white line on the horizon separates a wide expanse of blue ocean from a blue sky
article
Newfoundland and Labrador,Nova Scotia

Probing the North Atlantic for clues to climate-change impacts

Researchers will deploy high-tech floating sensors to get a clearer picture of the changing chemistry and productivity of warming oceans — and what it means for fisheries
A pregnant woman holds a glass of water in one hand and a few pills in the other
article
Quebec

Weighing risks and benefits of medication use during pregnancy

Epidemiologists create super database to provide much-needed evidence for which prescriptions are safe, or not, for mom and baby
A graphic of five people holding mobile devices with a cloud of icons denoting various online activities and genders above their heads
article
Ontario

A new normal for LGBTQ+ youth

Researcher Shelley L. Craig has spent decades advocating for LGBTQ+ youth. Her research shows how social media is a lifeline to those growing up queer
Faranak Farzan applies a device to the side of a seated man’s head
article
British Columbia

Seeing mental health and addiction differently

Technologies at the intersection of engineering and neuroscience could help take the trial-and-error out of diagnosing and treating mental illness and addiction in young people, saving valuable time and potentially lives
A view of the top of a woman’s head through the cylinder of a medical imaging machine
article
Quebec

Making medical imaging more accessible with better molecules

Researchers are working with a California company to develop new imaging techniques that are cheaper and easier to manufacture
A woman, who is blurred out in the background, holds a mobile phone in the foreground
article
Nova Scotia

The art of persuasive technology

Rita Orji, a computer scientist at Dalhousie University, develops culturally relevant persuasive technologies to promote positive behaviours, from sexual health among young people in Africa to mental wellness during a pandemic.
An illustration of a lineup of people wearing masks and pulling wheeled suitcases
article
Ontario

Resurrecting Canadian travel and tourism

Canada’s multi-billion-dollar hospitality industry was hit hard by COVID-19, but research on tourist behaviour can help restaurants, hotels and airlines win back customers by finding ways to ease their minds
A close up of a vaccine phial besides various superimposed imageswith 3D graphics of a virus layered over a picture of a pair of gloved hands in a laboratory
article
Nova Scotia

Safe facilities will help deliver effective COVID-19 vaccines in eastern Canada

Upgrading two Halifax-area facilities with higher safety measures means researchers in Halifax can develop and test COVID-19 vaccines
Paper strips printed with CMYK colours
article
Quebec

Taking the fear out of touch with antiviral inks

Montreal researchers aim to develop inks with anti-pathogenic nanoparticles to make printed surfaces safer
A person puts a hand to their forehead while sitting on the floor and looking at a laptop
article
British Columbia

Virtual reality offers students mental health support

Researchers at the College of New Caledonia study how virtual reality can help students build resilience and learn coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety
Dark liquid flows through a concrete pipe with a river and cityscape visible through the end of the pipe
article
Ontario

Testing sewage to see community infection levels

Researchers at the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research test wastewater as a way of screening whole communities for SARS-CoV-2 and potentially a gamut of other viruses