U of T and hospitals win $134.8 million in CFI research funding

The research powerhouse made up of the University of Toronto and its partner hospitals got a colossal boost June 18, when the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) awarded $134.8 million to U of T and five hospitals.

The partner hospitals receiving CFI investment include the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University Health Network.

U of T was awarded $76.6 million for16 projects. This is the largest amount of investment the CFI has ever awarded to U of T since the program was founded in 1997.

"On behalf of the University of Toronto, we extend a huge thanks to the Government of Canada and the CFI. This is a marvelous day for the U of T community," said Professor Paul Young, vice-president (research). "This was a national competition based on research excellence and there is no question that this quality is at the root of the innovative projects that have been awarded. It is also important to note the diversity and societal relevance of the research. The global community will see benefits from this work for years to come."

Of the total $76.6 million, $58.9 million comes through two CFI programs - the Leading Edge Fund (LEF), designed to enable institutions to build on and enhance already successful and productive initiatives supported by past CFI investment, and the New Initiatives Fund (NIF), designed to enhance Canada's capacity in promising new areas of research and technology development.

In addition to the $58.9 million, the university's projects were awarded a total of $17.7 million from the Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF). These funds support the operating costs of the new infrastructure.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. CFI's mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.

"Through the CFI, our government is creating leading-edge facilities to attract world-class researchers," said Tony Clement, minister of industry. "Our government understands that these investments provide a significant short-term economic stimulus while making a difference in the lives of Canadians."

The U of T funding is part of a $665 million investment by CFI to support 133 projects at 41 research institutions across the country.

"By investing in leading-edge research infrastructure, we are ensuring that our country continues to prosper as a nation of innovation," said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, president and CEO of the CFI. "This new investment will substantially increase Canada's capacity to carry out important world-class scientific research and technology development that will benefit all Canadians."

Young said the CFI investment will strengthen the ability of U of T and the partner hospitals to attract and keep world-class researchers. "We compete hard with institutions around the world for excellent talent. Receiving funding like this CFI investment is an important plus in enabling us to bring top scientists and scholars of all ages and in all disciplines to U of T and Canada."

The following is a summary of the U of T projects (including Infrastructure Operating Funds generated) and project leaders who have been awarded funding:

Leading Edge Fund
Advanced Thermal Spray Process Diagnostics and Coating Characterization Facilities, Javad Mostaghimi, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, $2,083,550

Centre for the Neurobiology of Stress, Ian Brown, Biological Sciences, U of T Scarborough, $2,737,456

Centre for Industrial Application of Microcellular Plastics, Chul Park, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, $4,737,847

Centre for Spectroscopic Investigation of Complex Organic Molecules and Polymers (CSICOMP), Mark Lautens, Chemistry, $3,365,393

Deciphering Cellular Networks In Health and Disease Using Automated Genetics and Cell Biology, Brenda Andrews and Charlie Boone, Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Disease, $3,045,175

High Field NMR Studies of Protein Molecules in Health and Disease, Lewis Kay, Biochemistry, $5,974,596

The Canadian Aerosol Research Network (CARN): Climate, Air Quality and Health in 2020, Jonathan Abbatt, Chemistry and Gregory Evans, Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, $7,876,790

New Initiatives Fund
Advanced Laboratory for Fluorinated and Other New Substances in the Environment (ALFONSE), Scott Mabury, Chemistry, $925,600

BioZone: A Bioengineering Research Facility for Energy, Environmental and Economic Sustainability, Elizabeth Edwards, Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, $3,293,750

Centre for Microsatellite Science and Technology Development and Low-Cost Space Research, Robert Zee, U of T Institute for Aerospace Studies, $5,210,657

Centre for Microfluidic Systems in Chemistry and Biology, Michael Sefton, Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering/Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, $4,874,940

Construction of a Centre for Collaborative Interactive Digital Media, Eugene Fiume, Computer Science, $3,120,000

Diet, the Digestive Tract and Disease: The 3D Centre, David Jenkins, Nutritional Sciences, $7,068,459

Inclusive Design Institute, Jutta Treviranus, Faculty of Information, $8,070,236

Molecular Imaging Facility: From Single Proteins to Atomically-Resolved Structural Dynamics, Dwayne Miller, Chemistry/Physics, $1,302,717

Ontario Initiative in Personalized Stem Cell Medicine, Janet Rossant, Molecular Genetics, $12,911,614

U of T partner hospital awards (also including IOF generated) include:

Centre for Addition and Mental Health
New Initiatives Fund
neuroIMAGENE, the convergence of genetics and brain imaging in mental health and addictions, Bruce Pollock, $3,649,086

Hospital for Sick Children
New Initiatives Fund
Disruptive Technologies in Paediatric and Fetal Intervention, Peter Kim, $2,860,000

Leading Edge Fund
Integrative Genomics For Health Research - Phase II, Steve Scherer, $5,559,719

Mount Sinai
Leading Edge Fund
CMHD: An Integrated and Regional Platform for Mouse Models of Human Disease, Lee Adamson, $9,543,422

Quantitative Cell Biology and Proteomics, Tony Pawson, $15,005,136

A clinical phenotyping and computational facility for the study of complex disease, J. Knight, $575,836

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Leading Edge Fund
An Integrated Breast Cancer Research Biomatrix, Martin Yaffe, $958,420

University Health Network
New Initiatives Fund
Robotic Positioning for Image-guided Surgery and Radiation Therapy, David Jaffray, $7,226,574

NanoMed Fab: A nanofabrication centre for personalized medicine, Gang Zheng, $3,232,470

Leading Edge Fund
Ontario Regional Centre for Cell and Vector Production, Armand Keating, $9,590,783