$12.7 million awarded to Queen’s researchers to advance cancer, heart disease, and health research

News & Announcements | 31 Jul 2026

Thirteen research teams at Queen’s University have received a combined $12.7 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s largest funder of health research.

Awarded through CIHR's Project Grant: Spring 2026 competition, each project will work towards advancing the health and wellbeing of Canadians through groundbreaking translational research and innovation. The research is diverse in both subject and scope: one team is mapping how the brain reorganizes itself after a stroke, another is investigating why glioblastoma tumours sometimes return after surgery, and a third is testing whether older adults on dialysis could maintain their health with less frequent treatment.

"The CIHR Project Grants are highly competitive across Canada," says Nancy Ross, Vice-Principal (Research) at Queen's. "Congratulations to the successful Queen's research teams and thank you to the Government of Canada and CIHR for their continued investment in research that supports that health and wellbeing of Canadians."

Many of these research projects involve activities occurring at Kingston Health Sciences Centre, which reflects the collaborative partnership between Queen’s and the regional tertiary care academic hospital.

See the full list of Queen's-funded CIHR projects below:

Project Grant

Extracellular vesicles are the gatekeepers of the haematopoietic stem cell health and survival - $1,181,926
Sheela Abraham (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences)

Understanding whole-brain reorganization following stroke and its relation to functional recovery - $1,204,876
Douglas Cook (Surgery), Jason Gallivan (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Psychology)

Adjunctive Methylene Blue in Septic Shock (BLUSH) - A Multicentre Pilot Feasibility Trial - $543,150
Shannon Fernando (Critical Care Medicine), Karim Soliman (Critical Care Medicine)

Evaluating a Virtual Infant Development Screening Program to Improve Access to Care for Children with a Complex Medical Condition - $891,224
Sandra Fucile (Rehabilitation Therapy)

A neuro-computational model of motor learning: Dissociating memory expression, updating, and creation in the human brain - $696,150
Jason Gallivan (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Psychology)

Monitoring the response to Lung Cancer Immunotherapy using an mDETECT Liquid Biopsy - $1,128,374
Christopher Mueller (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute)

Refining Adjuvant treatment IN endometrial cancer Based On molecular features (RAINBO) No Specific Molecular Profile (NSMP)-ORANGE trial - $1,575,898
Wendy Parulekar (Oncology, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute), Josee-Lyne Ethier (Public Health Sciences, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute)

Identifying Drivers of Glioblastoma Recurrence Through Molecular and Functional Profiling of Surgical Margins and Infiltrated Brain - $994,500
Teresa Purzner (Surgery, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute), James Purzner (Surgery)

Nociceptor neurons control tumor-associated macrophages - $1,143,676
Sébastien Talbot (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute)

A Randomized Controlled Study of Dialysis Less Frequently in the Elderly (DLITE) - $940,950
Christine White (Medicine), Rachel Holden (Medicine)

Investigating the Role of GREP1 in Breast Cancer Metastasis and Therapy - $1,266,076
Xiaolong Yang (Pathology and Molecular Medicine)

Project Grant: Bridge Funding

Empowering Communities to Save Lives: Optimizing the Neighbours Saving Neighbours Program for Cardiac Arrest Response - $100,000
Steven Brooks (Emergency Medicine)

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$12.7 million awarded to Queen’s researchers to advance cancer, heart disease, and health research

Project Grant

Project Grant: Bridge Funding

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