Sponsored by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Innovation Fund supports ambitious, multi‑million‑dollar projects that transform Canada’s research landscape. Each investment gives our researchers the tools to lead in areas essential to the health, security and prosperity of Canadians.
In addition to funding three uOttawa‑led projects, the Innovation Fund will also sponsor four research initiatives led by other Canadian universities in which uOttawa researchers are collaborating partners. The University of Ottawa is proud to work with universities across Canada to spark innovation and accelerate impactful research that benefits Canadians.
2025 Innovation Fund recipients
Zenghu Chang, Faculty of Science
Mid-infrared advanced Canadian laser enterprise (MIRACLE)
The next generation of breakthroughs in photonics and optical communications depends on mid‑infrared (MIR) lasers, but the absence of high‑performance MIR technology has created a critical gap in research and innovation.
Professor Chang is closing this gap with MIRACLE: a state-of-the-art facility at uOttawa that will advance MIR laser development while training the next generation of photonics experts and collaborating with the National Research Council and leading researchers from other Canadian universities.
Constance Crompton, Faculty of Arts
Open science infrastructure for Canad(ian)a: digital collections of the future
Vast archives of social, economic and political information must be transformed into accessible and trustworthy digital knowledge to deepen our understanding of Canada’s complex history and build shared awareness.
Professor Crompton is bringing together experts from the humanities, information science and computer science to build a comprehensive and ethical digital archive of Canada’s historical and cultural information. The archive will be designed using open science infrastructure and with artificial intelligence systems in mind.
Pierre Mattar and Michael Rudnicki, Faculty of Medicine and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Harnessing iPSC and organoid technologies for therapeutic discovery in neurological and neuromuscular disease
Neurological and neuromuscular diseases (NNDs) remain among the least understood and most difficult conditions to treat, despite their profound impact on patients and society.
Using new technologies capable of generating human tissue more accurately than before, Dr. Mattar and Dr. Rudnicki are gaining insight into the maturation and pathology of NNDs and developing novel treatments for these seemingly intractable conditions.
Collaborative projects
The research projects led by other Canadian universities that involve uOttawa collaborators include:
- Non-terrestrial networks for accelerating Canada’s ubiquitous connectivity and digital future (NTN-CAN), led by Carleton University
- Comprehensive image guided biomarker discovery platform, led by the University of Western Ontario
- Robust and advanced biofabrication for organoid development (Biofabrication robuste et avancée pour la valorisation d'organoïdes [BRAVO]), led by McGill University
- Cutting-edge systems development designed to understand the mechanisms involved in parental sensitivity (Développer des systèmes de pointe dédiés à la compréhension des mécanismes impliqués dans la sensibilité parentale), led by Université du Québec en Outaouais