These investments are made through flagship programs administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), which support excellence and innovation in Canadian science, including foundational discovery research, collaborative training, research infrastructure, and transformative interdisciplinary projects.
NSERC CREATE
One Faculty of Medicine initiative received funding through the NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. Each CREATE grant provides up to $1.65 million over six years to support the development of innovative training programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows:
- Dr. Jean-François Couture (BMI) – BRIGHT CANADA: Bringing Radiobiology Innovations to Grow the Highly Trained workforce in Canada. This program will deliver interdisciplinary training in radiobiology, bridging basic research, clinical applications, and industry needs.
NSERC Discovery Grants
Eleven Faculty of Medicine researchers received more than $2 million in total through the NSERC Discovery Grants Program and Discovery Launch Supplement, supporting long-term research programs across molecular biology, neuroscience, bioinformatics, and mobility systems:
- Dr. Junio Dort (SPS) – Deciphering the nutrient-driven mechanisms regulating myogenesis
- Dr. Mathieu Lavallée-Adam (BMI) – Computational Guiding of Proteomics Data Acquisition for a Comprehensive Coverage of Proteomes and Interactomes
- Dr. Jyh-Yeuan Lee (BMI) – Transporter-Mediated Sterol Translocation Across the Biological Membranes
- Dr. Frank Oechslin (BMI) – Evolutionary dynamics of modular proteins: a study of bacteriophage endolysin adaptation during host interactions
- Dr. Luca Pellegrini (BMI) – New insights into the structure, function, and evolution of the mitochondrial intermembrane zone
- Dr. Theodore Perkins (BMI) – Algorithms for Large-Scale Epigenomics
- Dr. Simon Chen (CMM) – Understanding the role of orbital frontal cortex in reward-based motor learning
- Dr. Kyoung Han Kim (CMM/UOHI) – Molecular and functional dissection of the atrioventricular conduction system development and maturation
- Dr. Edward Lemaire (Medicine/OHRI) – Intelligent Mobility Systems
NSERC Research Tools and Instruments (RTI)
Two researchers received NSERC RTI funding, totaling nearly $300,000, to support research infrastructure:
- Dr. Tommy Alain (BMI/CHEO), with co-applicant Dr. Zakia Djaoud (BMI/CHEO) – A System to Monitor Molecular Mechanisms of Translation Control and Immunophenotyping
- Dr. John Copeland (CMM), with co-applicant Dr. Marceline Côté (BMI) – Acquisition of a high-resolution imaging system for fixed and live samples
NFRF – Exploration
Dr. Simon Garceau (Surgery/OHRI) received an NFRF Exploration Grant of $246,000 over two years for the project “Brain Network-based Precision Medicine to Predict Dissatisfaction Following Total Knee Arthroplasty.” The collaborative project includes co-principal investigator Dr. Alexandre Boutet and co-applicants from the University Health Network and uOttawa:
- Dr. Sriranga Kashyap – University Health Network
- Dr. Kamil Uludag – University Health Network
- Dr. Gerd Melkus (Radiology/OHRI) – University of Ottawa
- Dr. Jurgen Germann – University Health Network
These awards reflect the breadth and excellence of research activity across the Faculty of Medicine and affiliated institutes, strengthening Canada's position in discovery research, interdisciplinary innovation, and the training of the next generation of scientists.