By Julie Fortier
Dr. Petra Schweinhardt is one of seven McGill researchers who have received funding under the latest round of grants awarded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The money will allow her to set up and equip her laboratory for Neuropsychopharmacological Pain Research.
“In this lab, we will combine pharmacological manipulations in the brain with psychophysical testing and brain imaging. The CFI grant will help me develop an area of research that aims at better understanding the processing and modulation of pain in the human brain in health and disease,” said Dr. Schweinhardt, an assistant professor jointly appointed to the Faculty of Dentistry and the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery.
McGill received comprehensive support from the CFI as all seven projects submitted under the Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF) were granted funding, for a total of $1,147,175. The six other projects, on areas as diverse as hybrid nanostructures, photonic systems, and cancer, among others, are led by Drs. Amy Blum (Chemistry), Russell Jones (Physiology), Maia Kokoeva (Medicine), Odile Liboiron-Ladouceur (Electrical and Computer Engineering), Brent Richards (Medicine), and Kai-Florian Storch (Psychiatry).
“The CFI’s sustained support for McGill projects underscores our researchers’ important role in cutting-edge fields,” said Denis Thérien, Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) at McGill. “We welcome this announcement, and wish to highlight the CFI’s crucial role in the launch and development of research projects.”
he grants were announced on April 7 as part of CFI’s national announcement of awards totaling $26,712,283 in support of 117 projects at 29 institutions across Canada. The sum includes $20,559,448 under the Leaders Opportunity Fund, which provides infrastructure support to Canadian institutions, and $6,152,835 from the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a complementary program that assists with the incremental operating and maintenance costs.