UCalgary receives $29 million in government support

University of Calgary research projects that tackle health issues such as stroke, diabetes and Indigenous health are receiving a funding boost from the federal government. The announcement was made in Ontario earlier this week by the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, minister of health.

The federal government announced an investment of $372 million across Canada, including $29,007,824 coming directly to the University of Calgary. The funding will help UCalgary researchers study the full spectrum of health issues affecting Canadians and is part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant funding for the Fall Competition.

“Our government is fully committed to taking concrete action when it comes to the health and well-being of all Canadians. This investment will fund research that will lead to new treatments, breakthroughs, and fundamental advances in health science. We are proud of our researchers, and will continue to support them in their efforts to help keep Canadians healthy and continue their research right here at home,” says Petitpas Taylor.

The research projects, spread across three faculties, will address issues in our priority areas of Brain and Mental Health, and Infections, Inflammation and Chronic Diseases.

The University of Calgary did well in the September 2017 Project Grant competition compared to the last two competitions. 

Thirty-seven researchers from the Cumming School of Medicine and faculties of Science and Veterinary Medicine received funding. The university of had a 21.3-per-cent success rate — higher than the national success rate of 15.96 per cent. 

“This investment by CIHR will support our researchers in their endeavour to address our country’s most pressing health challenges,” says Ed McCauley, vice-president (research). “Overcoming these challenges requires a diversity of research programs, from basic to translational science, both of which CIHR has awarded through the Project Grant competition. We are grateful for their continued support.”

The Project Grant competition is one of CIHR’s flagship funding programs. Project grants are multi-year grants designed to support researchers at various stages in their careers as they conduct health research and knowledge translation projects that cover the full range of health research topics. Project grant recipients are leaders in their fields and their projects tackle pressing health issues that matter to Canadians, such as cancer, autism, heart disease, and dementia.