Canada Foundation for Innovation funds 19 research projects led by U of T, partner hospitals

Nineteen researchers at the University of Toronto and partner hospitals have received almost $60 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation through its Innovation Fund.

The funding will support infrastructure needs in research areas ranging from genome sequencing to extreme mechanics and next-generation telescopes.

“Our government is proud to support future generations by enabling students and post-doctoral researchers to acquire and hone the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their challenging fields,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry.

Janice Robertson is a researcher in the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases and co-lead on one of the funded projects, ‘Systems and precision research in neurodegenerative diseases: toward next-generation diagnostics and therapies.’

"The significance of this support cannot be overstated," says Robertson, who also holds the James Hunter Family Chair in ALS Research and is a professor of laboratory medicine and pathobiology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. "With this funding, we can accelerate our research efforts and bring hope to those affected by debilitating neurodegenerative conditions.”

Project co-lead Ekaterina Rogaeva, also a Tanz Centre researcher and professor in Temerty Medicine's department of medicine, studies how aging and lifestyle choices affect the development of neurodegenerative diseases.

"This funding ensures that Tanz researchers are equipped with state-of-the-art technology that allows us to delve deeper into the genetic underpinnings of neurodegenerative diseases,” she says.

The Tanz Centre researchers will access new equipment for genomic and proteomic analysis, along with upgraded imaging technology.

They will also make use of an innovative 'brain on a chip' organelle suite, which enables the cultivation of neurons derived from skin cells taken from patients with neurodegenerative diseases. This approach facilitates real-time observations of what’s happening at the genetic level, and holds promise for the development of targeted therapies customized for each patient.

Read more about the funding for Tanz Centre researchers.

Other U of T researchers and projects receiving support from the CFI Innovation Fund include:

Cheryl Arrowsmith in the department of medical biophysics at Temerty Medicine and the Structural Genomics Consortium – Centre for Protein Target Enabling Packages.

Ingo Ensminger in the department of biology at U of T Mississauga – Centre for Robotic Observations of the Biosphere and the Environment.

Patrick Gunning in the department of chemical and physical sciences at U of T Mississauga – The Centre for Medicinal Chemistry.

Renée Hložek in the David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics at the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics – The Universe in Real Time through the Canadian Data Intensive Astrophysics Platform.

Barth Netterfield in the David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics and the department of physics at the Faculty of Arts & Science – GigaBIT: A high resolution, wide field telescope operating on the edge of space.

Jay Werber in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Development of sustainable aqueous processes and technologies enabled by the water analysis and Treatment.

Aaron Wheeler in the department of chemistry at the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – The CRAFT Diagnostics Horizon Lab.

Yu Zou in the department of materials science and engineering at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – Toronto Integrated Platform for Materials under Extreme Conditions.

Brian Ciruna at SickKids Hospital and the department of molecular genetics in Temerty Medicine –  Advancing child health using zebrafish precision models of pediatric cancer, congenital defects, and disease.

Sergio Grinstein and Lu-Yang Wang at SickKids Research Institute and the department of biochemistry (Grinstein) and department of physiology (Wang) in Temerty Medicine – Resolving cell dynamics at the mesoscale level.

George Ibrahim at The Hospital for Sick Children and the department of surgery in Temerty Medicine – NEURO-FORCE: Neurological Focused Ultrasound Operations in Children.

Stephen Scherer at The Hospital for Sick Children and the department of molecular genetics at Temerty Medicine – CGEn: Canada’s national platform for genome sequencing and analysis.

Gary Bader at the Lunenfeld- Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health and the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research at Temerty Medicine – Enabling high throughput quantitative ultrastructural imaging.

Jeff Wrana at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health and the department of molecular genetics in Temerty Medicine – A tissue bioengineering platform to model human disease.

Marcelo Cypel at the University Health Network and the department of surgery in Temerty Medicine – A new era in transplantation: advanced strategies for ex vivo organ modification.

Valerie Wallace at the University Health Network and the department of ophthalmology and vision sciences at Temerty Medicine – Facility for integrated structure and functional assessment of retina disease and therapeutics.

Jordan Lerner-Ellis at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health and the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology at Temerty Medicine – The Canadian Genomics Data Commons.

Kaley Walker, Kimberly Strong and Paul Kushner in the department of physics at the Faculty of Arts & Science – The HAWC satellite mission: High-altitude Aerosols, Water vapour, and Clouds.

Read the CFI announcement.