CIHR awards SFU Science researchers $2M in new funding

Simon Fraser University Faculty of Science researchers have been awarded $2M from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through the recent Project Grant competition.

The Project Grant program funds research in all areas of health with the greatest potential to generate new fundamental or applied knowledge to advance health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes.

Two projects have received funding totalling $1,670,000.

• $1.08M to study how thin filament variants induce hypertrophy cardiomyopathy, a congenital heart disease
  Principal Investigator: Glen Tibbits, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology
• $590K to pilot test new AI initiatives for the automatic detection of electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities that aim to improve the efficacy of clinical evaluations of patients
  Principal Investigator: Vasily Vakorin, leading a team of researchers including Sam Doesburg, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology

Three projects have received bridge funding totalling $300,000.

• $100K to develop a commercialization plan for a new RNA-based imaging technology with applications in the study of human diseases
  Principal Investigator: Peter Unrau, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
• $100K to study the role of the CDK19 gene in human neurological abnormalities, such as Parkinson’s Disease, using fruit flies as an experimental model
  Principal Investigator: Esther Verheyen, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
• $100K to study how breast cancer cells adapt to stress, such as low nutrients and chemotherapy, and understand how these mechanisms can lead to tumor growth and therapy resistance
  Principal Investigator: Sharon Gorski, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Learn more about CIHR Project Grant and view the Fall 2022 competition results.