CFI invests $4.2 million to boost 23 McGill research projects

At Laurentian University today, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, announced a total investment of $52 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund for 220 new infrastructure projects nationally. Among the 51 universities across the country with funded projects, McGill leads the pack with an impressive number—23 projects totaling $4.2 million—in this latest round of the funding competition.

By Meaghan Thurston

At Laurentian University today, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, announced a total investment of $52 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund for 220 new infrastructure projects nationally. Among the 51 universities across the country with funded projects, McGill leads the pack with an impressive number — 23 projects totaling $4.2 million — in this latest round of the funding competition.

Designed to help universities attract and retain the very best researchers by ensuring they have access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund also offers institutions the opportunity to create competitive research support packages, coupled with direct research costs from partner organizations.

“These latest investments from the CFI create incredible momentum in McGill’s efforts to advance research in areas as diverse as international labour law, image-guided neurosurgery of the brain and spine and the study of the effects of climate change in high-latitude environments”, said Martha Crago, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation.  “Not only does CFI’s support help attract the best scientific minds to the University, it bolsters McGill’s ability to contribute to the economic and social development of Quebec and Canada.”

“Our scientists need the best tools and equipment for ground-breaking research and discovery and we are committed to ensuring they have them,” said the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science. “Their successes will lead to an improved economy and will fuel an active research community here in Canada and internationally.”

Among the recipients of CFI’s investment is Prof. Rosaire Mongrain of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The infrastructure provided by CFI funding will support Prof. Mongrain’s integrated research program aimed at designing novel implantable biotechnologies and next-generation implantable sensors. These therapeutic technologies will assist in restoring vascular function as well as in monitoring tissue stiffness that occurs with cancer, fibrosis and cardiovascular diseases.

Prof. Lisa Overholtzer of the Department of Anthropology also received a CFI investment today to develop a household archaeology laboratory at McGill. The laboratory will enable the training of highly qualified archaeology researchers and top graduate and postdoctoral students, and will support new research at the central Mexican site of Tlaxcallan.

A complete list of McGill-led CFI-funded projects:

Single-cell analysis of host factors involved in human papillomavirus genome replication

Jacques Archambault of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology is the Principal Investigator

CFI: $140,000; Total project cost: $350,000

MAPs and Microtubules

Susanne Bechstedt of the Department of Biology is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $140,000; Total project cost: $378,660

Legal Mapping Database of Transnational Uses of International Labour Law

Adelle Blackett of the Faculty of Law is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $72,600; Total project cost: $181,752

Nanoscale imaging platform for dynamic analysis of osmosensory transduction in living cells

Charles Bourque of the Faculty of Medicine is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $260,000; Total project cost: $650,000

Ba-ion extraction for a future double-beta decay experiment

Thomas Brunner of the Faculty of Physics is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $300,000; Total project cost: $750,000

Equipment for Neuro Imaging and Surgical Technologies (NIST) laboratory

Louis Collins of the Montreal Neurological Institute is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $183,432; Total project cost: $458,580

Merged infrastructure to study the multidimensional aspects of muscle fatigue

Julie Cote of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $206,993; Total project cost: $517,482

Compound-specific isotope analyses for biogeochemistry and paleoclimatology

Peter Douglas of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $247,289; Total project cost: $618,223

Infrastructure for a Sustainable Plant Biosystems Laboratory

Valérie Gravel of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $105,791; Total project cost: $264,478

Innovative Functional Food Ingredients to Improve Canada’s Well Being and Health: Sustainable Enzymatic Processes

Salwa Karboune of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $339,944; Total project cost: $850,024

Translational Control: Understanding the Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Pain Hypersensitivity

Arkady Khoutorsky of the Alan Edwards Center for Research on Pain is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $166,000; Total project cost: $415,000

Center for fault friction analysis

James Kirkpatrick of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $98,276; Total project cost: $245,690

Opioid misuse and addiction among patients with chronic pain: From risk factors to treatment interventions

Marc O Martel of the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Medicine is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $40,000; Total project cost: $111,900

Robotics in Unstructured Environments

David Meger of the School of Computer Science is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $60,000; Total project cost: $150,312

Optical and Electrophysiological investigation of neuronal function

Austen Milnerwood of the Montreal Neurological Institute is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $140,000; Total project cost: $360,892

Soft Materials Processing and Testing Suite to Support the Development of Implantable Biotechnologies

Rosaire Mongrain of the Department of Mechanical Engineering is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $609,230; Total project cost: $1,523,598

Novel technologies for bedside assessment and interaction with unresponsive patients

Stefanie Blain-Moraes of the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $96,470; Total project cost: $241,181

An inter-disciplinary laboratory examining the computations, psychology, and psychophysiology of human decision-making

Ross Otto of the Department of Psychology is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $46,410; Total project cost: $116,025

Household archaeology laboratory

Lisa Overholtzer of the Department of Anthropology is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $78,275; Total project cost: $195,688

Circuit mechanisms underling action selection

Tomoko Oyama of the Department of Biology is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $219,800; Total project cost: $219,800

Microbial Glycomics

Donald Sheppard of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $149,530; Total project cost: $373,827

Mass Spectrometry Studies of Biosynthesis and Protein-Protein Interactions

Christopher Thibodeaux of the Department of Chemistry is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $347,000; Total project cost: $867,500

Brain mechanisms of blood sodium detection in health and salt-sensitive hypertension

Masha Prager-Khoutorsky of the Department of Physiology is the Principal Investigator.

CFI: $147,200; Total project cost: $368,583