University of Calgary Research Secures Over $78M in Federal Investment Funding

The University of Calgary received over $78 million in funding as part of a federal funding announcement on March 13, 2024. The announcement was made by Pablo Rodriguez, federal minister of transport, on behalf of the federal granting agencies the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The announcement included a $68.7-million investment in faculty research and institutional support for eight Canada Research Chairs, seven CFI Innovation grants, and over 60 total NSERC Alliance and SSHRC Insight Development Grants. Funding also includes institutional support through the Research Support Fund and Incremental Program Grant programs.

In addition, 335 UCalgary graduate students received funding through the Canada Graduate Scholarship programs, totalling $7.8 million. Over 20 UCalgary postdocs also received support through CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships, totalling $2.4 million in funding. 

“The wide array of research topics funded today, from the far reaches of space to the microscopic cells of the human body, all have a part to play in our shared future,” says Dr. Robert Thompson, acting vice-president (research). “Today’s investment in research will enable UCalgary’s world-class scholars to pursue innovative solutions that will better our understanding of the world around us and improve quality of life for Canadians now and in the years to come.”

Canada Research Chairs

• Dr. Jackson Cone, PhD (Faculty of Arts): CRC in Computational Behavioural Neuroscience
• Dr. Bas Surewaard, PhD (Cumming School of Medicine): CRC in Wild Microbiome and Infections
• Dr. Cindy Barha, PhD (Faculty of Kinesiology): CRC in Neuroscience, Brain Health and Exercise
• Dr. Meredith Brockway, PhD (Faculty of Nursing): CRC in Early Life Exposures and Child Health Outcomes
• Dr. Javier Orlandi Gomez, PhD (Faculty of Science): CRC in Complex Neural Systems
• Dr. Diego Nobrega, PhD (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine): CRC in Antimicrobial Resistance and One Health
• Dr. Jongbok Lee, PhD (CSM): CRC in Cancer Immunology
• Dr. Wesley Willett, PhD (Faculty of Science): CRC in Visual Analytics (renewal)

CFI Innovation Grants

The Innovation Fund provides continued investments in infrastructure, across the full spectrum of research, from the most fundamental to applied through to technology development. Projects funded through the Innovation Fund will help Canada remain at the forefront of exploration and knowledge generation while making meaningful contributions to generating social, health, environmental and economic benefits and addressing global challenges.

• Dr. Stephanie Borglund, PhD, with Dr. Tuan Trang, PhD (CSM): A New Approach to Meet the Challenge of Addiction
• Dr. Jefferey Dunn, PhD, with Dr. Peter Stys, MD (CSM): Micro and Mesoscale Imaging of Neurodegeneration and Repair in Multiple Sclerosis
• Dr. Carolyn Emery, PhD, with Dr. Keith Yeates, PhD (Faculties of Kinesiology and Arts): University of Calgary Concussion Research Centre
• Dr. Sean Rogers, PhD, with Dr. Sally Leys, PhD (Faculty of Science and UAlberta): Ecocosms and Mesocosms jointly Predict Ocean Weather and Ecological Response (EMPOWER)
• Dr. David Schriemer, PhD, with Dr. Natalie Strynadka, PhD (CSM and University of British Columbia): TRaC – Therapies for Rare Cancers
• Dr. Emma Spanswick, PhD (Faculty of Science): Innovation in Space Weather Science – Leveraging NASA’s Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) Mission
• Dr. Simon Trudel, PhD, with Dr. Pierre Kennepohl, PhD (Faculty of Science): LINX – Laboratory for in-operando x-ray spectroscopy

NSERC Alliance Grants

Alliance funding supports R&D collaborations between Canadian university researchers and partners from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors, as well as opportunities for Canadian researchers to work with national and international academic counterparts.

SSHRC Insight Development Grants

Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas.

Research Support Fund and Incremental Project Grants

The Research Support Fund, including its Incremental Project Grants stream, assists Canadian post-secondary institutions with the costs associated with managing their research enterprise, helping them to maintain a world-class research environment.

Scholarships and fellowships

These funds, managed by CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, aim to empower students and researchers, fostering a more robust, healthy, and equitable future for Canada.

The objective of this support is to create positive, far-reaching impacts that touch the lives of all Canadians, nurturing continued excellence in a diverse range of disciplines spanning natural sciences, engineering, health, social sciences, and humanities.