Innovative, high-quality research to benefit all Canadians gets major investment

MONTREAL, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at the Université de Montréal, Que., the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport of Canada and Quebec Lieutenant, announced more than $515 million in funding for research infrastructure through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). He made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The funding will support 100 infrastructure projects at 32 postsecondary institutions and research hospitals across the country and will help Canada remain at the forefront of exploration, discovery and innovation.

For Canadian researchers to be ready to respond to critical issues facing our planet and pursue ambitious ideas that drive innovation, they need access to the right tools and facilities. The Government of Canada understands this need, and through the CFI, it is supporting researchers across the country in making meaningful contributions in health, the environment, and the economy to build a resilient, thriving society.

The Université de Montréal received funding for three projects, including one that will use medical imaging to learn more about type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects nearly one in 10 adults around the world. CFI funding will supply research teams at the Université de Montréal and the Université de Sherbrooke with PET scans, MRI and quantitative ultrasound technology to monitor organ function in people with the disease with the goal of preventing and treating it.

Other exceptional research infrastructure projects this funding supports include:

• Repurposing drugs to treat opioid use disorder. In 2022, an average of 20 lives were lost every day to opioid overdose, twice as many as in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. CFI funding will support researchers at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine who are looking at how opioid use disorder changes the brain. There are currently only four approved medications to manage opioid use disorder and the rate of relapse among individuals undergoing treatment is about 70 percent. Researchers will collaborate with people with lived experience of opioid use to repurpose existing drugs to treat the disorder’s debilitating symptoms. While the research team will also work on developing new drug therapies, focusing on existing medicines will save many years of testing and approvals — and could ultimately save lives.
  
  Read: Probing the brain to break the cycle of opioid addiction
  

• Preventing coastal erosion. Prince Edward Island is shrinking faster than ever predicted, losing an average of 30 centimetres of coastline a year. How to protect against climate change-induced heavy precipitation, storm surges and rising sea levels has become one of the most pressing questions for the province. CFI funding will support the University of Prince Edward Island’s Climate Lab to develop a province-wide coastal hazard monitoring and testing system. Cameras with a 360-degree view will record storms in real time and an indoor facility will test protective measures in a simulated coastal environment. It will systematically evaluate measures like planting vegetation and erecting sea walls to see what works in different locations across P.E.I. The system will be the only one of its kind in Canada.
  
  Read: Coastal scourge
  

• Building better wheelchairs. Few wheelchairs on the market have been built for Canada’s rigorous climate and landscape. A team at the British Columbia Institute of Technology is looking to change that, to make wheelchairs go places they can’t right now — off-road, through snow and up and down stairs. Their goal is to create a modifiable chair that can be adapted to add e-bike-like power-assist units or to tackle different terrain. A partnership with the University of Manitoba will test the devices in the snow. Thorough testing will evaluate what the technologies can do safely to ensure that new wheelchairs will further break down barriers for people living with disabilities.
  
  Read: Unlimited access
  

Discover more stories on projects funded in this competition.

Quotes

“Congratulations to top-tier researchers who will get a boost through this vital funding to take their projects to the next level. Our Government is proud to support future generations by enabling students and postdoctoral researchers to acquire and hone the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their challenging fields. Their pioneering research will further establish Canada’s position as a global leader in innovation while helping to drive our economy and achieve our shared vision of a brighter, healthier future for all Canadians.”

- The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

“Research labs and facilities, like those being funded today, provide the foundation upon which Canada’s research leaders can make discoveries and drive innovation that will contribute to a better future for all of us.”

 - Roseann O’Reilly Runte, President and CEO of the CFI

Quick facts

• The investments announced today were made through the CFI’s Innovation Fund. This fund supports 40 percent of infrastructure costs across the full spectrum of research, from fundamental research to technology development, with the remaining portion coming from partners such as provincial and territorial governments and the institutions themselves. These investments will help Canada remain at the forefront of exploration and knowledge generation and will support researchers in addressing global challenges and making meaningful contributions to social, health, environmental and economic benefits for Canadians.
  
  
• Projects supported through the Innovation Fund are eligible for additional funding through the Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF) to cover the costs of operating the research infrastructure. The total investment of $515.3 million includes $117.7 million from the IOF. It also includes $5.5 million to cover incremental administrative costs associated with the management and governance of 20 projects that involve three or more collaborating CFI-eligible institutions.
  
  
• Many of the funded projects involve collaboration among research institutions.
  Of the 100 proposals, 41 include at least one collaborating institution.
  

Quick links

• More about the Canada Foundation for Innovation
• Details on the CFI’s Innovation Fund
• Discover the CFI Research Facilities Navigator: An online database of labs and facilities that are open to working with businesses
  

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation

With a bold, future-looking mandate, the Canada Foundation for Innovation equips researchers to be global leaders in their field and to respond to emerging challenges. Our investments in state-of-the-art tools, instruments and facilities at universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions underpin both curiosity- and mission-driven research that cuts across disciplines and bridges all sectors. The research infrastructure we fund mobilizes knowledge, spurs innovation and commercialization, and empowers the talented minds of a new generation.

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A full list of the funded projects and stories about the facilities we fund are available online at Innovation.ca. For updates, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and X @InnovationCA and subscribe to our YouTube channel to find videos about the CFI and its transformative research projects.

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