Four researchers from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Science received funding to support projects spanning brain health, substance use and the ongoing toxic drug crisis.
From left to right: SFU recipients of the CIHR Spring 2026 Project Grant program, Kanna Hayashi, Lisa Julian, David Vocadlo, Bohdan Nosyk
The CIHR Project Grant program is one of Canada's most competitive funding opportunities, supporting investigator-driven research across all areas of health. In the Spring 2026 competition, CIHR approved 439 research grants for a total investment of approximately $412 million across the country.
"Success in a highly competitive national funding program like this reflects the strength of SFU's research community and the quality of the ideas being developed across our institution," says Dugan O'Neil, vice-president, research and innovation. "These awards will help our researchers advance knowledge that has the potential to improve health outcomes, inform policy and strengthen health systems, while further expanding SFU's impact in communities across Canada."
The funded projects include:
Examining impacts of harm reduction services on health care access, engagement and outcomes
Kanna Hayashi from Faculty of Health Sciences received $1,464,976 together with the co-principal applicants, Drs. Nadia Fairbairn and Mark Lysyshyn at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), to examine how harm reduction services influence health care access and outcomes for people who use drugs in Vancouver amid the ongoing toxic drug crisis.
Working with the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, VCH and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, the research will link data from a long-running community cohort with health care records to quantitatively examine whether supervised consumption sites, overdose prevention sites and drug-checking services improve engagement with primary care, mental health services and other health care supports. The findings will help inform harm reduction and health policy in British Columbia and across Canada.
Understanding early brain development
Lisa Julian from Faculty of Science received $1,071,000 to investigate how early brain development is affected by mutations in the TSC2 gene which, when inherited in human patients, cause a devastating epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorder called tuberous sclerosis (TS).
This research will use three-dimensional human brain organoids and mini brain tissues made from stem cells of actual TS patients to investigate how TSC2 mutations disrupt how the early brain is built. These findings will reveal why the cell types, tissue structures and neural networks that develop in the brain in TS are so atypical and provide clues for how to treat these abnormalities.
Advancing knowledge of rare brain disease
David Vocadlo from Faculty of Science received $960,076 to investigate the role of the MYORG gene in primary brain calcification, a rare genetic disorder characterized by abnormal calcium deposits in the brain.
The research will explore how the MYORG enzyme functions and identify potential therapeutic approaches that could benefit people living with primary brain calcification, while also advancing understanding of related neurodegenerative diseases.
Evaluating new treatments for opioid use disorder
Bohdan Nosyk from Faculty of Health Sciences, along with Dr. Brittany Dennis and Ehsan Karim from the University of British Columbia and Jill Murray from the BC Ministry of Health, received $794,990 to evaluate emerging prescribing practices for opioid use disorder (OUD) in response to Canada's increasingly unpredictable toxic unregulated drug supply.
Using population-level health data from British Columbia, the project will evaluate new strategies being used for treatment of OUD. This includes initiating treatment on higher doses compared to standard treatment, combination therapies of short-acting opioids with standard treatment to prevent relapse, and co-prescription of benzodiazepines to manage withdrawal related to benzodiazepine contamination in the unregulated drug supply. The findings will provide evidence to help update clinical guidelines for OUD treatment and support health care providers and policymakers in providing evidence-based care to people living with OUD in the context of the toxic overdose crisis.
Read more about the SFU-led projects funded through the Spring 2026 CIHR Project Grant competition. To view the complete list of funded projects across Canada, visit the CIHR results page.
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The Government of Canada's Research Support Fund (RSF) supports with funding for staff who help SFU researchers increase success, reduce administrative burden, and make it possible for the university and SFU faculty to successfully compete for the most significant and prestigious grants, prizes and awards available. This includes staff from the Institutional Strategic Awards (ISA) office and faculty-based grant facilitators.
