We’re thrilled to share CIFAR’s 2024–2025 revamped Impact Report!
CIFAR’s story has always been one of
boldness and possibility — of seeing what’s next and building the conditions to get there.
Hear from CIFAR President & CEO Stephen J. Toope and Board Chair Irfhan Rawji as they reflect on the impact we’ve made this year.
📖 Read the 2024–25 Impact Report at the link in our bio.
#TheNextLeapStartsHere #CIFARImpact #ScienceInCanada #MadeInCanadaResearch #FutureOfDiscovery #InnovateForImpact #CanadianScience #GlobalIdeasCanadianImpact #ScienceThatShapesTomorrow #BoldResearchBigImpact
How do childhood experiences affect lifelong health?
CIFAR’s Child & Brain Development program continued to explore this question at their recent program meeting held at the Jacobs Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, which featured thought-provoking talks on:
🔹 The Effects of War and Displacement on Syrian Refugee Children: Risk and Resilience by Michael Pluess
🔹 A lifespan perspective on health and development by Flavia Wehrle (supported by the @swissnationalsciencefoundation )
🔹 Cognitive adaptation to stressful environments by Willem Frankenhuis, and more!
Together, these conversations are helping deepen our understanding of how early environments shape health across our lifespans.
#ChildDevelopment #BrainResearch #LifeCourseHealth #RefugeeResearch #Neuroscience
Leading researchers and early-career scientists gathered at the CIFAR Quantum Materials program meeting and trainee school in Whistler last week to explore emerging areas in the field.
The meeting featured interdisciplinary discussions on superconductivity, strange metals, magic-angle graphene and other advances in quantum research, alongside presentations on new breakthroughs and collaborative projects.
Presenters included Brad Ramshaw, Caitlin Duffy, Subir Sachdev, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero and more.
The accompanying Quantum Materials School also provided intensive interdisciplinary training opportunities for trainees and early-career researchers studying quantum materials, including poster sessions that gave young scholars the opportunity to present and discuss their research.
How do molecular, genetic, whole body and organ-level scales, as well as external factors impact human health? 🧬
The CIFAR MacMillan Multiscale Human research program explored this question through interdisciplinary, collaborative sessions at their meeting in Whistler this week.
Program members also participated in rapid-fire 60-second presentations on their research, exchanged progress on collaborative catalyst projects with fellow program members and across CIFAR’s research programs and presented new breakthroughs in their work.
#HumanHealthResearch #InterdisciplinaryScience #BiomedicalResearch #SystemsBiology #HealthInnovation
Why does consciousness matter?
This theme will be central to this year’s #CIFARWinterSchool, which brings emerging leaders across neuroscience, cognitive science and related disciplines together with world-class researchers for close, collaborative learning.
Participants will explore:
🔹Why consciousness might matter for ascribing moral status to others
🔹Why we might value consciousness and subjective experience for ourselves
🔹Why consciousness may have arisen evolutionarily
🔹 Why consciousness science is important for humanity to consider - and get right - for societal, technological and other reasons
If you’re a senior PhD student or postdoctoral fellow studying neuroscience, cognitive science, or a related discipline, apply today!
🔗 Learn more at the link in our bio.
#NeuroscienceResearch #ConsciousnessStudies #PostdocOpportunities
Investing in the next generation of researchers means investing in the future of discovery.
Early-career researchers bring energy and new ideas, unencumbered by convention, that lead to different ways of addressing key challenges and opportunities.
That’s why CIFAR’s Next-Generation Initiative Strategy is evolving how we support emerging talent. We’re creating new pathways for interdisciplinary collaboration that go beyond traditional academic boundaries.
🔗 Learn more at the link in our bio.
#NextGenResearchers #FutureOfScience #ResearchInnovation #EmergingTalent #Interdisciplinary
The deadline to apply for the Mitacs-CIFAR Global Excellence Award stream has been extended to September 11!
This award supports 10 outstanding international postdoctoral fellows and PhD graduates to pursue industry-focused research in Canada while also engaging in CIFAR’s Next Generation programming.
🔗 Learn more and apply today at the link in our bio.
#GlobalExcellence #ResearchOpportunities #PostdocLife #PhDGraduates #InnovationCanada
How can food systems be better integrated into cities to support ecosystem health? 🏙️ 🌱
This question guided CIFAR’s Urban Future of Food workshop, part of the CIFAR–Arrell Future of Food Initiative.
Taking place in Montréal, Quebec, the workshop explored how urban design can incorporate food production, examining innovations such as soilless growing, urban-optimized GMO cultivars and rooftop agrovoltaics, along with their ecological, social and economic impacts.
Led by Kate Brown, Mikkel Thelle, Anne Braedder, Joshua Arnold, and Nathan McClintock, participants examined policies and financial incentives from cities that already support urban food systems to inform global solutions. They also explored urban self-provisioning, where urban residents produce their own food, energy or services to meet basic needs.
The team also took a trip to La @centrale.agricole , an urban agriculture cooperative and innovation hub, to learn more about urban farming and sustainable food systems.
#UrbanFoodSystems #SustainableCities #FoodSecurity #UrbanAgriculture #ClimateSolutions
How can researchers and industry work together to advance antifungal drug development? 🦠 💊
This week in Toronto, CIFAR’s Fungal Kingdom Group Summit Series brought together leading scientists and industry partners working at the forefront of antifungal research.
Together, participants examined key barriers in the field – including funding, investment and regulatory pathways – and explored how these challenges can be addressed to better support antifungal drug development.
Led by Fungal Kingdom Program Co-Directors Leah Cowen and Joe Heitman, the summit fostered meaningful cross-sector collaboration to help advance solutions to a growing global health challenge.
🔗 Learn more about the event and a recent collaboration it sparked earlier this year at the link in bio.
#AntifungalResearch #GlobalHealthScience #DrugDevelopment #ResearchCollaboration #FungalInfections
#CIFARWinterSchool applications are now open! 🧠
This is a fully funded, 3-day intensive for senior PhD students and postdoctoral fellows working in neuroscience and consciousness research.
This year’s theme is “Why Consciousness Matters.” Participants will explore this central question through lectures with leading researchers, peer networking, and immersive workshops.
Hosted by members of CIFAR’s Brain, Mind & Consciousness program and the @templetonworld Charity Foundation, this year’s event takes place December 3 to 5.
🔗 Apply by June 10 at the link in our bio.
#NeuroscienceResearch #ConsciousnessStudies #PhDLife PostdocOpportunities
CIFAR is partnering with @mitacs to support up to 10 Mitacs-CIFAR Global Excellence Award recipients.
Under the Mitacs Accelerate Global Excellence Award program, this new award stream is designed to attract outstanding international postdoctoral fellows and PhD graduates training under CIFAR fellows to Canada, supporting their relocation and integration into our research and innovation ecosystem.
Scholars will also have the opportunity to engage in CIFAR’s Next Generation programming.
🔗 Learn more and apply today at the link in our bio.
#GlobalTalent #ResearchExcellence #PostdocLife #PhDOpportunities #InnovationCanada
How can we build a new, more inclusive food economy that rebalances power in global food systems?
This question guided our recent discovery workshop, part of the CIFAR Arrell Future of Food Initiative, this week in Toronto, focused on Neglected and Underutilized Crop Species (NUS) – nutrient-rich, climate-resilient crops often overlooked in mainstream agriculture and research.
Despite their potential to improve nutrition, strengthen resilience, and support smallholder farmers, NUS remain marginalized due to inconsistent policies, limited research and funding, and fragmented efforts.
Bringing together global experts, the workshop reimagined the role of NUS in transforming food systems, moving them from the margins to a core pillar of the future.
The two-day event was organized by Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, Festo Massawe, Ee Von Goh, Wendy Geza, and Suwilanji Sinyangwe.
#FutureOfFood #InclusiveFoodSystems #NeglectedCrops #SustainableAgriculture #FoodSecurity #ClimateResilientFarming #AgriculturalInnovation
