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McGill researchers receive $6.5M in funding from the CFI and the Government of Quebec 

Published: 12 August 2019

By Amanda Testani

Twelve McGill researchers have received federal grants through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF). The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, made the announcement today at the University of Alberta. Each McGill recipient will also receive matching funds from the Quebec government for their research endeavours. 

JELF was established to help universities attract and retain the best and brightest researchers from around the world by giving them access to cutting-edge research tools. JELF offers institutions the opportunity to acquire infrastructure for their leading research faculty to undertake cutting-edge research; and to create competitive research support packages in the form of infrastructure and a portion of the operating and maintenance costs from the CFI, coupled with direct research costs from partner organizations. 

“Researchers in Canada know that cutting-edge tools and labs are necessary to make discoveries and innovate,” said Minister Duncan. “That is why our government is announcing funding for the infrastructure needs of Canadian researchers. Their ground-breaking contributions to science and research have an enormous impact on the breakthroughs that help make our visions for a better future a reality.” 

Complete list of McGill’s JELF awardees: 

Synaptic Dysfunction in Genetic Models of ALS Prof. Gary Armstrong of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, is the principal investigator. 

$120,000 from JELF; $120,000 matching provincial funds. 


Evolutionary Ecology of Species Distributions Prof. Anna Hargreaves of the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator. 

$140,000 from JELF; $140,000 matching provincial funds. 


Spoken Interaction Lab Prof. Francisco Torreira-Martinez of the Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, is the principal investigator. 

$40,000 from JELF; $40,000 matching provincial funds. 


Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Nanostructures and Devices Prof. Songrui Zhao of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator. 

$180,000 from JELF; $180,000 matching provincial funds. 


Dairy Cattle Nutrition and Environmental Sustainability Laboratory Prof. Sergio Alejandro Burgos of the Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the principal investigator. 

$140,000 from JELF; $140,000 matching provincial funds. 


Cryogenic Test Facility for Detector Technology Development for Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Experiments Prof. Matt Dobbs of the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator. 

$251,120 from JELF; $251,120 matching provincial funds. 


Correlative 3D Nanoimaging and Molecular Mapping in Situ of Mineralized Tissues Prof. Marc D. McKee, of the Faculty of Dentistry, is the principal investigator. 

$388,102 from JELF; $388,102 matching provincial funds. 


Bioactive Glasses for the Regeneration of Hard and Soft Tissues Prof. Showan Nazhat, of the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator. 

$720,000 from JELF; $720,000 matching provincial funds. 


Optical Fiber Communications Systems for the Next Decade Prof. David V. Plant, of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator. 

$797,750 from JELF; $797,750 matching provincial funds. 


Functional Genomics of HIV and M. Tuberculosis Infection Prof. Erwin Schurr, of the Department of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, is the principal investigator. 

$237,132 from JELF; $237,132 matching provincial funds. 


Research Laboratory for Smart Transportation Prof. Lijun Sun, of the Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Engineering, is the principal investigator. 

$80,000 from JELF; $80,000 matching provincial funds. 


A Micro-ecosystem Array for Testing Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Prof. Jennifer Sunday, of the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, is the principal investigator. 

$175,200 from JELF; $175,200 matching provincial funds.


Read the CFI press release

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