$554M funding supports eight hospital-based research projects

Ottawa, ON – The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has announced a total of $554 million in funding for eight large-scale, research hospital-based infrastructure projects under its Research Hospital Fund (RHF).

“This investment in Canada’s research hospitals will result in new insights into the causes of illness, new approaches to prevention and treatment, improved health care delivery systems, and ultimately, in an improved quality of life for all Canadians,” said Dr Eliot Phillipson, president and CEO of the CFI.

The program is designed for large-scale research hospital-based projects that require mostly space and other research infrastructure to support excellent research, training, and knowledge translation in one or more research themes of strategic importance to the hospital.

The funding consists of $426,544,529 awarded under the large-scale institutional endeavours component of the RHF and $127,936,351 to assist institutions with the operation and maintenance costs associated with the infrastructure projects being funded.

Funded project are listed below, with institution, project title and description, along with maximum CFI contribution.

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Transforming Care for Mental Illness and Addiction – An Integrated Approach. Researchers will advance a world-class, innovative research agenda for the treatment of mental illnesses and addictions, with the goal to ensure that advances in the field are transformed into effective systems policy and general care in the community, with a focus on prevention. $15,247,686*

Hamilton Health Sciences. Hamilton Health Sciences Cardiac, Vascular and Stroke Research Institute (CVSRI): A Multidisciplinary Approach. Led by Dr Jeffrey Weitz, the new Cardiac, Vascular and Stroke Research Institute will bring together a group of researchers internationally recognized for its multidisciplinary approach to translational research in thrombosis, cardiac problems and stroke. $34,759,934*

McGill University. Translational Research and Intervention Across the Lifespan. Led by Dr Vassilios Papadopoulos, the infrastructure brings together researchers of international reputation in the development of a novel, integrated research institute for the realization of disease understanding and prevention, advanced therapeutics and optimal health care for Canadians, using a multidisciplinary approach. $99,988,343*

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics. The new centre builds on an established group of experts of international calibre, with strengths in imaging, imageguided intervention and clinical research. The platform-based initiative spans strategic program areas such as cancer, cardiac, neurosciences and musculoskeletal; and crosses the disciplines of molecular/cellular biology, imaging and clinical epidemiology. $57,351,858*

The Hospital for Sick Children. The SickKids Child Health Research Institute. The integrative nature of the project will consolidate a large number of world-class researchers from four separate locations into a single center and support world-class research at a hospital that is an international leader in child health research and the delivery of care. $91,119,176*

The Ottawa Hospital. Translation of Innovation into Medical Excellence (TIMEx). The focus of the project on the discovery of new therapeutic approaches for chronic diseases and cancer, and the development of new biological therapies for serious disorders using regenerative medicine and oncology represents a powerful mix of innovative, world-class basic science and translational research that is of critical importance and unique in Canada. $24,590,235*

University Health Network. Building the UHN Advanced Therapeutics Research Platform. The project addresses many of the major diseases of relevance to the Canadian population, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus/obesity, rheumatology and neurodegenerative disorders. $92,255,967*

Memorial University of Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Human Genetics. This project takes advantage of the unique founder population effect in Newfoundland, which could have worldwide implications and give the researchers involved a competitive advantage. It is a very strategic project for the province as it will contribute to attracting leaders in genomics and to training a new generation of genomics researchers. $11,231,330*

*+30% for infrastructure operating costs