News

McGill researchers awarded $5.5 million in CFI funding

Published: 18 September 2024

Twenty McGill researchers have received infrastructure awards from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support their innovative projects, for a total federal investment of $5.5 million.  

These grants will be matched by the Quebec government, doubling their value.  

The funding was announced September 13, part of a total of $86 million in CFI awards for 316 research infrastructure projects at 47 institutions across the country. The awards, from CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), help universities provide top scientific researchers with the highly specialized infrastructure they need to excel. 

Among the award winners is Vivian Qian Liu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Parasitology, who will use her JELF funding to acquire super-resolution microscopy to study infectious diseases that originate from animals and infect humans, particularly through foodborne illnesses. These viral and bacterial zoonoses are among the greatest challenges faced by public-health experts today. Liu’s research will explore how zoonotic viruses spill over from wildlife to humans and livestock, and how bacterial cells persist in agroecosystems. By providing high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging of live specimens, this research will aid in the development of active surveillance systems and effective intervention strategies.  

“I thank the Canada Foundation for Innovation for providing this essential support for cutting-edge McGill research, and for its commitment to strengthening Canada’s position as a global innovation leader, and I also am grateful to the Quebec government for its matching grants, which similarly strengthen Quebec,” Dominique Bérubé, McGill’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation, said. 

CFI JELF-funded projects in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Innovative nutrition and lifestyle interventions for health improvement and management of diabetes, aging and cancer 
Professor Anne-Sophie Brazeau, School of Human Nutrition
$447,848  

Investigation of the survival and transmission of emerging zoonotic human pathogens using super-resolution microscopy
Professor Qian Liu, Institute of Parasitology  
$553,482  

Back to top