Canada’s New Frontiers Research Fund (NFRF) embraces high-risk, high-reward researchers, projects and approaches that open new research directions and challenge conventional thinking.
Supported through the NFRF’s Exploration funding stream, the uOttawa initiatives cover advanced cancer diagnostics, AI insights into drug resistance and transformative biomaterials for maternal health, reflecting the fund’s commitment to world-leading, Canadian-led research with the potential for real-world impact.
2025 New Frontiers in Research Fund recipients
Jean-Michel Ménard, Faculty of Science
Real-time monitoring of molecular vibrations as a new diagnosis platform for cancer
Early detection is essential to improving cancer outcomes, yet current diagnostic tools often miss the subtle molecular changes that appear long before symptoms present.
Professor Jean-Michel Ménard’s research advances an innovative spectroscopic imaging platform that uses terahertz (THz) radiation to detect cancer‑related changes at the molecular level.
For the first time, THz spectroscopy — well established in materials science — will be applied to biological systems to capture molecular vibrations and rapid structural changes in tissues in real time. Using advanced data analysis, the research will identify functional molecular patterns that distinguish healthy from diseased tissue, revealing biomarkers invisible through conventional, static diagnostics.
Initially, this research will be applied to endometriosis, a chronic condition linked to elevated ovarian cancer risk and long diagnostic delays.
This approach challenges current diagnostic models and aims to transform early cancer detection by enabling earlier intervention and improving patient outcomes.
Arvind Mer, Faculty of Medicine
Decoding hibernation with AI to overcome cancer drug resistance
Drug resistance is a leading cause of cancer relapse, driven in part by tumour cells that enter a dormant, drug‑tolerant state during chemotherapy and later reignite disease.
Professor Arvind Mer is targeting this survival strategy at its source by drawing inspiration from animal hibernation. In species such as bears, cells drastically slow down their activity to endure prolonged physiological stress. Cancer cells appear to exploit a similar hibernation‑like state to survive chemotherapy.
Using artificial intelligence and bioinformatics, the project will compare the molecular mechanisms that support dormancy in hibernating animals with those that allow cancer cells to evade treatment. This approach aims to uncover shared survival pathways and identify existing drugs that can disrupt them.
This strategy challenges conventional models of chemoresistance and aims to prevent relapse, extend treatment durability and significantly improve patient outcomes.
Fabio Variola, Faculty of Engineering
A naturally derived biomaterial for the scar-free healing of post-surgical uterine wounds
Uterine scarring from common surgeries such as Caesarean sections is a major cause of infertility and pregnancy complications, particularly in low‑resource and remote settings where post‑operative care is limited.
Professor Fabio Variola’s research advances a new, minimally invasive biomaterial designed to promote scar‑free uterine healing, support tissue regeneration and prevent long‑term complications.
The injectable material delivers antimicrobial and anti‑inflammatory effects and is made entirely from sustainable, food‑grade components. Low cost and requiring no specialized handling, it is easily deployable in the field, enabling scalable use in global maternal care.
This approach challenges current standards of surgical healing in women’s health and aims to reduce infertility, accelerate recovery and improve pregnancy outcomes.