Throughout the Canadian forest sector, Lignin has traditionally been treated as low-quality, low-value side streams of product processing. However, lignin is an abundant raw material. When extracted and processed, lignin has a wide variety of uses and applications, including opportunities to displace traditional fossil- based chemicals and products. Lignin-derived products will play a crucial role in the Canadian bio-economy value chain.

Nextfor, a program of the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE) is launching a new accelerated Request for Proposals (RFP) from standing or newly established consortiums which have commercial or pre-commercial ready technologies and solutions to establish or increase the commercial readiness of one of the lignin based platforms as identified by Nextfor’s High Performance Lignin Forums:

• Polymer Fine Chemicals;
• Resins/Adhesives;
• Thermoplastics and Composites

To be eligible for this challenge, the proposed products and/or applications must utilize wood-based lignin.

The Cancer Therapeutics Innovation Pipeline (CTIP) Program was established to capitalize on Ontario’s expertise in cancer biology and drug discovery to create a pipeline of validated cancer targets and first-in-class or best-in-class, novel, selective lead molecules (small molecules or biologics) that would attract partnerships and/or investment for further preclinical and clinical development. To generate a sustainable pipeline, CTIP will support projects that aim to provide increasing evidence of target validation and disease association using functional assays and drug screening in relevant in vitro and in vivo models of the cancer type of interest.

CTIP funds projects in three stages of preclinical drug discovery and is currently inviting applications for the following two funding streams:

Early Accelerator projects: Delivers a validated primary assay to enable initial screening of molecules against a defined target. Entry into the EA stage requires evidence of target validation and association to the cancer of interest.

Funding available: Up to $150,000 for up to one year.

Late Accelerator projects: Delivers confirmed Hit molecules against a defined target, supported by evidence of disease association, using validated primary, secondary and orthogonal assays for screening. To achieve this goal, the project must describe an integrated testing cascade of experiments focused on achieving target validation in cell-based models coupled with medium-to-high-throughput screening for Hits.

Funding available: Up to $250,000 per year for up to two years.

ArcticNet and the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response (MEOPAR) Network invite Postdoctoral Fellows (PDF) to apply to the jointly funded ArcticNet-MEOPAR Arctic-Marine and Coastal Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. This award is open to PDFs pursuing natural, social and health science research in Arctic marine and coastal regions as well as Canadian geographic areas that have relevance to Arctic systems.

Under this call, your proposed project must contribute to the achievement of the objectives of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, which seeks to reduce poverty and vulnerability and build a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world. The policy recognizes that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is the most effective approach to achieving this goal.

Proposed projects must align with at least one of the action areas outlined in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy:

• Action area 1 (core action area): Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
• Action area 2: Human dignity
• Action area 3: Growth that works for everyone
• Action area 4: Environment and climate action
• Action area 5: Inclusive governance
• Action area 6: Peace and security

As organizations can only submit one application to this competition, interested applicants are asked to contact the Office of Research to indicate their interest in applying no later than June 30.

The specific objective of this funding opportunity is to:

• Improve our understanding of, response to, and recovery from co-occurring stressful and traumatic events that stem from the current COVID-19 pandemic, and/or the impacts of restrictions related to associated public health mitigation measures, with respect to children, youth and families in Canada, by addressing one (1) or more of the following four (4) items through research that takes an integrated knowledge mobilization approach to:
  1. Enhance understanding of the nature and breadth of the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on children, youth and families, including factors that are protective or exacerbate these impacts;
  2. Accelerate the availability and use of high-quality and real-time evidence regarding the identification and mobilization of practices that have supported the adaptation of existing programs and the development of new programs that support the health and well-being of children, youth and families in Canada; and,
  3. Generate evidence related to diverse population(s), including for instance: equity considerations, health and well-being status (e.g., historically excluded or underserved populations, individuals with complex health needs and/or a disability), sex and gender, and/or racialized or First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Urban Indigenous populations.
  4. Identify populations at the highest and high risk for negative outcomes, factors that are associated with this increased greater risk, as well as any factors that have been found to be protective and/or enhance resilience.

In addition, researchers are encouraged to:

• Leverage existing cohorts/samples/health administrative, educational, surveillance and other data sets, by using existing data and/or collecting additional measures as necessary.
• Consider the variety of data sources (including single or multi-jurisdictional) that may be accessed to inform study designs, and how these data sources can be enhanced and/or combined in their analyses.
• Consider how to disentangle the contributions of different sources of stress, including stressful and traumatic events, changes in family or community economic and/or social impacts (including any food or housing insecurity/instability, violence in the home), and disruptions resulting from restrictions in service and care delivery.

Applications must clearly communicate how Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and, where applicable, Indigenous Rights will be incorporated into the research proposed. Refer to the Best practices in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research, the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan and the Tri-Agency Strengthening Indigenous Research Capacity Strategic Plan for additional guidance. This includes incorporation of biological variables (e.g. sex, age, etc.) and/or sociocultural identity factors (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, language, etc.) into the research proposed, where applicable.

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are:

• To support a leading researcher based at an Ontario institution to develop and implement the Chair with the goal of impacting and enhancing research on sex and gender differences in brain health.
• To support an outstanding research program that will enhance women's brain health through the study of cognitive aging and associated disorders.
• To build capacity for research on brain health and aging that accounts for sex and gender.
• To foster the mobilization of that research into gender- and sex-responsive policies and interventions that improve brain health and promote wellness in aging.

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• Generate data and evidence to monitor and evaluate the potential benefits, harms, and unintended consequences of alcohol regulation on population health and health equity;
• Generate intervention-related evidence to address the needs of knowledge users in this space, including for regulatory aims;
• Facilitate consideration and application of new evidence to inform ongoing and future development of policies, practices and programs related to alcohol;
• Support partnerships between researchers and knowledge users to rapidly inform policies and practices related to prevention, harm reduction, and treatment of alcohol use;
• Encourage evaluation of interventions, population health intervention research, and implementation science approaches that consider sub-populations and/or the biological, structural, and social determinants of problematic alcohol use.