Supporting Research Innovation

Ontario has announced that it will be awarding a total of $51 million across Ontario through various research funding competitions. The funding aims to support world-class studies and research talent at leading institutions across the province, laying the foundation for Ontario’s future knowledge-based economy.
 
Of these funds, UHN was awarded over $4.2 million to support 13 projects. These funds join a total of over $127 million that Ontario has invested into research programs, jobs and innovation at UHN since 2003.
 
These awards represent funding through provincial research funding competitions:
 
Early Researcher Awards
Funding to help recently appointed scientists build their research teams.

• Dr. Daniel Winer; to study immune mechanisms of obesity related insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
• Dr. Frank Rudzicz; to develop technology for the automatic assessment of dementia from speech.
• Dr. Housheng Hansen He; to characterize the role of long noncoding RNAs in prostate cancer.
• Dr. Michael Hoffman; to study the modifications to DNA (epigenetics) and their impact on transcription factor binding.  

Ontario Research Fund – Research Infrastructure Program
Funding to provide Ontario's researchers with infrastructure required to conduct world-leading research.

• Dr. Mitsuhiko Ikura; to study how the three-dimensional structures of cancer-associated proteins change over time.
• Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi; for the creation of a sound-proof laboratory to study sleep-disordered breathing.
• Dr. Valerie Wallace; for the use of advanced two-photon imaging to study retinal development, injury and repair.
• Dr. Mohit Kapoor; to image and define the underlying cause of the progressive loss of cartilage in osteoarthritis.
• Dr. David Brooks; to study ways of awaking the suppressed immune system to fight persistent viral infections and cancer.
• Dr. Clinton Robbins and Slava Epelman; to identify the role of macrophage immune cells in cardiovascular disease.
• Dr. Steven Chan; to identify cancer-related dysfunctions in the energy-producing centres of the cell (ie, the mitochondria) as new therapeutic targets.
• Drs. Kristin Musselman and Alison Novak; to find ways of preventing falls in vulnerable populations.  

Ontario Research Fund – Genomic Applications Partnership Program
Funding to promote genomics-based technologies by enabling academic and private sector partnerships.

• Dr. Jean Wang; to use genomics research to advance cancer immunotherapy strategies.

Reza Moridi, Minister of Research, Innovation and Science, comments: “Ontario’s capacity to compete globally depends on harnessing our research, innovation and entrepreneurial strengths. Our government is proud to support the work of individuals who are at the forefront of scientific discovery leading to new treatments, cures and technologies. Their efforts will bring promising new technologies to market, growing our innovation economy to help Ontario compete and win in the global economy.” 
 
Click on the following links to learn more about the Early Researcher Awards or the Ontario Research Fund – Research Infrastructure program.