August 6, 2026
A total of 51 projects led by UBC researchers were awarded $45.8 million in combined funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant: Spring 2026 competition.
- 47 projects led by UBC researchers were awarded Project Grants totaling $45.4 million
- Three Priority Announcement Grants and one Bridge Award were also awarded for projects led by UBC researchers, totaling $0.4 million.
On a national level, CIHR approved a total of 439 research grants, for a total investment of approximately $412 million. In addition, 19 priority announcement grants were funded for a total amount of $1.9 million.
UBC Links and Features
- Pharm Sci researchers recognized in CIHR and Health Research BC competitions
- UBC Medicine researchers awarded more than $39 million in CIHR funding
UBC-led Project Grants
- Principal Investigator(s): Ahad, Tashmeeta (Dermatology and Skin Science); Kalia, Sunil (Dermatology and Skin Science); Lui, Harvey (Dermatology and Skin Science); Zeng, Haishan (Dermatology and Skin Science)
Longitudinal non-invasive optical biopsy of low risk skin neoplasms in dermatology clinics to monitor efficacy and response to treatment
- Principal Investigator(s): Amed, Shazhan (Pediatrics)
De-risking Clinical Adoption and Generalizability of AI-Enabled Diabetes Care
- Principal Investigator(s): Av-Gay, Yossef (Medicine)
Developing fenoxacrim derivatives against drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Principal Investigator(s): Bansback, Nicholas (School of Population and Public Health); Hsu, Amy (University of Ottawa); Magalhaes, Sandra (University of New Brunswick); Zhang, Wei (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
How Does Home Care Services Use Impact Downstream Healthcare Utilization and System Costs for Canada's Aging Population? A Cross-Provincial Longitudinal Cohort Study
- Principal Investigator(s): Bingham, Brittany Lauren (Medicine); Waters, Shannon (School of Population and Public Health)
When the Land Speaks: BC First Nations Sovereignty, Language, and Public Health Governance in Climate Emergencies
- Principal Investigator(s): Brown, Kelly Lynn (Pediatrics); Morishita, Kimberly (Pediatrics)
Pediatric-Specific Prognostication in ANCA-GN: Validation of Adult Risk Scores and Discovery of Novel Biomarkers
- Principal Investigator(s): Conibear, Elizabeth (Medical Genetics)
Regulation of the bridge-like lipid transfer protein BLTP1 at membrane contact sites
- Principal Investigator(s): De Boer, Carl (School of Biomedical Engineering)
Pooled multiplexed synthesis and screening of hundreds of thousands of genes
- Principal Investigator(s): Dedhar, Shoukat (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Molecular dissection of cell plasticity and vulnerability of drug-resistant breast cancer cells that escape apoptotic cell death
- Principal Investigator(s): Domeier, Phillip Patrick (Microbiology and Immunology)
Regulation of B cell memory establishment and recall by Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin
- Principal Investigator(s): Duan, Kevin (Medicine); Cleland, Stephanie (Simon Fraser University); Johnson, Kate (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
The Canadian Air pollution, Economics and Respiratory Outcomes (Can-AERO) Study: PM2.5 Exposure, COPD Exacerbations, and the Cost Effectiveness of Air Cleaners
- Principal Investigator(s): Fairbairn, Nadia (Medicine); Bach, Paxton (Medicine); Richardson, Lindsey (Sociology)
Engagement-focused contingency management for the treatment of opioid use disorder: a randomized controlled trial
- Principal Investigator(s): Fedida, David (Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics)
The structural basis of state-dependent potassium channel inhibition
- Principal Investigator(s): Finbloom, Joel A (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Biofilm-Mimetic Nanofibrous Microgels to Encapsulate Bacterial Live Biotherapeutic Products and Overcome Oral Delivery Challenges for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis
- Principal Investigator(s): Floresco, Stanley Bogdan (Psychology)
Prefrontal-subcortical network mechanisms underlying risky decision making
- Principal Investigator(s): Hawkes, Michael Thomas (Pediatrics); Conroy, Andrea (Indiana University); Namasopo, Sophie (Ministry of Health - Uganda, Hoima Regional Referral Hospital); Sadarangani, Manish (Pediatrics)
Serotype-specific protection from pneumococcal conjugate vaccine: immunity in Ugandan children and lessons for Canada
- Principal Investigator(s): Holt, Rob (Psychiatry)
Understanding the immune response to the oncomicrobe Fusobacterium nucleaum
- Principal Investigator(s): Hutcheon, Jennifer Anne (Obstetrics and Gynecology); Liauw, Jessica (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Closing the surveillance gap: Identifying congenital anomalies in Canadian population health data in the era of early prenatal diagnosis
- Principal Investigator(s): John Peter, Arun (Cellular and Physiological Sciences)
Mechanistic dissection of the lipid transporter Vps13 and its metabolic regulation at membrane contact sites
- Principal Investigator(s): Kolind, Shannon (Medicine)
Ultra-low field magnetic resonance imaging as an accessible tool for monitoring disease activity and progression in multiple sclerosis
- Principal Investigator(s): Krahn, Andrew David (Medicine)
Precision Diagnosis and Management of Cardiogenetics: The Hearts in Rhythm Organization (HiRO)
- Principal Investigator(s): Levings, Megan K. (Surgery; School of Biomedical Engineering)
Mechanistic studies of human Tregs engineered for use in transplantation
- Principal Investigator(s): Lim, Emilia Lee Yian (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
A single-cell spatial analysis of the impact of air pollution exposure on molecular pathways in lung cancer
- Principal Investigator(s): Lisonkova, Sarka (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Cesarean Deliveries in British Columbia: Quantifying Trends, Indications, and Pregnancy Outcomes to Inform Clinical and Health Policy Decisions
- Principal Investigator(s): Lockwood, William (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Identifying mediators of drug tolerance and persister cell survival in response to targeted therapies in lung adenocarcinoma
- Principal Investigator(s): Lorincz, Matthew C. (Medical Genetics)
Molecular characterization of the neomorphic linker histone H1-4 frame-shift mutation pathogenic for Rahman syndrome
- Principal Investigator(s): Mayor, Thibault (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Molecular Principles Governing Degron Recognition in Misfolded Cytosolic Proteins with Pathological Missense Mutations
- Principal Investigator(s): Nolan, Seonaid (Medicine); Johnson, Harmony (School of Population and Public Health)
Embedding Indigenous research evaluation and governance within British Columbia's Road to Recovery substance use care program.
- Principal Investigator(s): Palis, Heather (School of Population and Public Health); Barbic, Skye (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy); Janjua, Naveed (School of Population and Public Health); Marchand, Kirsten (School of Population and Public Health); Mathias, Steve (Psychiatry)
Identifying service pathways to reduce overdose risk among youth: a multi-method, population-based, and co-design study
- Principal Investigator(s): Palombo, Daniela (Psychology)
Mental Health, Resilience, Memory and Memory Sharing in the Aftermath of Pregnancy Loss
- Principal Investigator(s): Panenka, William J. (Psychiatry); Gicas, Kristina (University of the Fraser Valley); Thornton, Allen (Simon Fraser University)
Dynamic Clinical Risk States and Neurostructural Consequences of Community Non- Fatal Opioid Overdose
- Principal Investigator(s): Rauscher, Alexander (Pediatrics)
A new Class of Radiofrequency Pulses for Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Enhancing Signal-to-Noise Ratio, Reducing Artifacts, and Improving Diagnostic Accuracy Without Hardware Modifications
- Principal Investigator(s): Salters, Kate (Medicine); Arredondo, Jaime (University of Victoria)
Optimizing supervised inhalation services to address the unregulated drug toxicity crisis in British Columbia
- Principal Investigator(s): Shahram, Sana (Nursing, UBCO); Bingham, Brittany (Medicine); Ndumbe-Eyoh, Sume (University of Toronto); Urbanoski, Karen (University of Victoria)
Measuring the Costs and Social Returns of Matriarchal Kinship Care: The Nita Survey
- Principal Investigator(s): Slaunwhite, Amanda Kathleen (School of Population and Public Health)
Evaluating the effectiveness of contingency management to improve uptake of antipsychotic treatment in provincial correctional centres
- Principal Investigator(s): Sly, Laura M (Pediatrics)
Targeting metabolic dysfunction to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in people with Crohn's disease
- Principal Investigator(s): Soma, Kiran (Psychology)
Effects of maternal sucrose consumption on offspring hormones, neural circuits, and behaviour in rats
- Principal Investigator(s): Srinivasan Sridhar, Vikas (Medicine); Cherney, David (University of Toronto); Gill , John (Medicine); Matas, Arthur (University of Minnesota); Mottl, Amy (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill); Sawinski, Deirdre (University of Pennsylvania); Singh, Sunita (University of Toronto)
Cardiovascular and Renal Protection with SGLT Inhibition in Kidney Transplant Recipients"" ('RENAISSANCE') Study
- Principal Investigator(s): Stringhini, Silvia (School of Population and Public Health)
The Health Impact of Parental Leave: Assessing the Effect of Policy Changes and Leave Uptake on Short- and Long-Term Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in Canada
- Principal Investigator(s): Tang, Xin (Computer Science; Michael Smith Laboratories); Underhill, Michael (Cellular & Physiological Sciences; School of Biomedical Engineering)
Deciphering Immune Evasion in Synovial Sarcoma through Interpretable AI and Validation Experiments
- Principal Investigator(s): Tropini, Carolina (Microbiology and Immunology)
Impact of loss of commensal bacteria on enteric infection
- Principal Investigator(s): Vallance, Bruce Andrew (Pediatrics)
Mid-Colon Goblet Cells: Primary Source of the Protective Colonic Mucus Barrier
- Principal Investigator(s): Vu, Ly (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Translation control by CNOT4 in myeloid leukemia
- Principal Investigator(s): Wang, Yuzhuo (Urologic Sciences)
Derisking the Development of VPC-25959 Derivatives as Novel MCT4 Inhibitors for Clinical Trials in Patients with Advanced Glycolytic Cancers
- Principal Investigator(s): Wellington, Cheryl Lea (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Alamar discovery of plasma biomarkers that distinguish dementia subtypes, inform on disease staging and predict rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
- Principal Investigator(s): Wu, Lyndia Chun (Mechanical Engineering; School of Biomedical Engineering); Ji, Songbai (Worcester Polytechnic Institute)
Sex-specific biomechanical thresholds and cumulative risk models for sports-related brain injury
- Principal Investigator(s): Zhou, Lily (Medicine)
Practices and Perspectives in Post Stroke Swallowing Problems (4P)
See full list of Spring 2026 CIHR Project Grant awardees
UBC-Led Priority Announcement and Bridge Funding Awards
- Principal Investigator(s): Bungay, Victoria Ann (Nursing)
Holding Up the System: Workforce Precarity in Canada's Not-for-Profit Health and Social Service Sector
Priority Announcement Area: Sex and Gender in Health Research
- Principal Investigator(s): Hawkins, Nathaniel Mark (Cardiology); Bansback, Nicholas (School of Population and Public Health)
Improving PAtient Recruitment into Trials by elICIting Preferences And TradE-offs in Heart Failure (I-PARTICIPATE-HF).
Priority Announcement Area: Patient-Oriented Research
- Principal Investigator(s): Isaac, Kathryn V (Computer Science); Ng, Raymond (Computer Science), Nichol, Alan (Surgery); Warburton, Rebecca (Surgery)
SMART-BC: A Scalable Machine-Assisted Referral Triage system for Breast Cancer care
Priority Announcement Area: ICR - Leveraging AI to Transform Cancer Research - AI to Accelerate Breast Cancer Research
- Principal Investigator(s): Jovel, Eduardo (Land and Food Systems)
Land is Medicine: Weaving Indigenous and Western Healthcare Systems through Urban Land-based Wellness and Healing Practices among Indigenous Communities in Vancouver
Bridge Funding Award