CanPath awarded $3M to study crises in a changing world

Read the original news release from the Government of Canada Toronto, Canada, September 23, 2025 – What if Canada had a research platform ready to track the next pandemic, study the effects of climate change on health, and help explain rising cancer rates in young people? With a $3 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), CanPath is that platform. Awarded through CIHR’s Pandemic Research Platforms Interim Funding opportunity, this two-year operating grant supports CanPath’s unique ability to generate fast, meaningful insights during public health emergencies. This work goes far beyond pandemics: it also aims to tackle broader crises like climate-related health risks and early-onset cancer. “This grant strengthens CanPath’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to future public health emergencies,” said Dr. Jennifer Brooks, CanPath’s Executive Director. “Our platform is built for this kind of work, with hundreds of thousands of Canadians already engaged, linked health records, and long-term follow-up in place.” The grant is led by Dr. Brooks and Dr. Philip Awadalla, CanPath’s National Scientific Co-Director, with a national team of co-investigators. The funding is held at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. “CanPath is known as a research resource, but now in its prime, it’s built for resilience,” said Dr. Awadalla. “We’re proud to continue this work with our partners and support Canada’s preparedness for emerging diseases in a changing world.” Canada’s largest health study is ready to respond CanPath, the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health, is the country’s largest population health cohort, with more than 330,000 participants recruited from all 10 provinces. Participants have consented to long-term follow-up, data linkage, and future contact, providing a uniquely flexible and future-ready research platform. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CanPath rapidly deployed a national antibody study, linked testing data to participant records, and surveyed participants in real time. Results were shared widely with researchers, policymakers, and the public and featured by Global News, National Post, and The Globe and Mail. “CanPath’s COVID-19 response showed how powerful our model can be,” said Dr. Victoria Kirsh, CanPath National Scientific Coordinator. “We were able to launch surveys, test for antibodies, and communicate directly with participants in record time. This grant ensures we can build on that success, strengthen our partnerships, and stay ready to support evidence-based action when it matters most.” What this funding supports Through this grant, CanPath will continue to: This work builds on CanPath’s strategic partnerships with: Together, these partnerships strengthen CanPath’s role as a responsive, data-rich platform that serves researchers, funders, policymakers, and communities alike. Ready for the next challenge This grant builds on CanPath’s proven ability to act fast, scale up, and generate real-world impact. In future public health emergencies, CanPath is ready to: CanPath’s national team of investigators—including Drs. Trevor Dummer, Simon Gravel, Vikki Ho, Victoria Kirsh, Guillaume Lettre, Grace Shen-Tu, Jared Simpson, Ellen Sweeney, Megan Vanstone, Donna Turner, and Robin Urquhart—brings deep expertise across research fields and geographies. “This isn’t just about the next pandemic,” said Brooks. “It’s about being prepared for the full range of health challenges we’re facing, from chronic diseases—including cancer—to environmental change. This grant helps us keep Canada at the forefront of evidence-based, equitable research.” Pandemics don’t wait, and thanks to this investment, neither will CanPath. For more information, please contact:Megan FlemingCommunications & Knowledge Translation OfficerCanadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (CanPath)info@canpath.ca

Cancer Research Society Funding Opportunity

RISE: Research Impact in Survivorship and Engagement  The Cancer Research Society (CRS) and Ovarian Cancer Canada are proud to launch the RISE grant competition. Through this partnership, a total of $200,000 will be awarded to support two innovative projects focused on ovarian cancer survivorship, based on priorities identified by patients and caregivers. Key Dates • Letter of Intent: May 13, 2025 at 11:59 PM (ET) • Full Application (by invitation): July 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM (ET)   Competition Details  Eligible projects may focus on one or more of the following aspects of ovarian cancer survivorship: Physical well-being and health Psychosocial and emotional well-being Health disparities and inequities Treatment advances to extend survival, reduce side effects and improve quality of life Healthy lifestyle interventions  

Funding Announcement — Enabling Personalized Genomics in Health with the CanPath Data Safe Haven

Congratulations to CanPath as one of the new Genome Canada supported projects! “The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced $18.1 million in federal support through Genome Canada for 13 late-stage research and development projects tackling major challenges in health, environment and agriculture through genomics. The projects announced today—deployed through diverse research partnerships with industry, healthcare organizations, as well as provincial and other federal partners—will harness cutting-edge genomics science to deliver real world impacts for healthier, more sustainable and prosperous communities across Canada. These public-private partnerships will generate solutions for: Health, by delivering life-saving precision health, new treatment and diagnosis options, and public health innovation for pathogen surveillance. Environmental sustainability, by driving environmental protection in mining and development of new tools to ensure ecosystem health. Resilient agriculture, by enabling nature-based solutions for pest management.” Additional Details: https://genomecanada.ca/genome-canada-investments-drive-cutting-edge-rd-in-health-environmental-sustainability-and-agricultural-resilience/ CanPath, in partnership with Ontario Genomics, will focus on Enabling Personalized Genomics in Health with the CanPath Data Safe Haven. Led by Dr. Philip Awadalla (co-Scientific Director, CanPath), Dr. John McLaughlin (Executive Director, CanPath) and Dr. Trevor Dummer (co-Scientific Director, CanPath). “Personalized healthcare programs require the collection and integration of high-quality data and biosamples from a vast number of individuals to capture the complex factors that can shape an individual’s health over the course of their lifetime. To enable discovery, evidence generation and policy change, the data must be accessible to both researchers, as well as public and commercial health decision makers. In Canada, the sharing and combining of data across jurisdictions, rather than collecting the data itself, is a major barrier to progress in precision medicine. The promise of personalized medicine is within reach through the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health project (CanPath): Canada’s largest population health cohort. CanPath has made major strides towards integrating clinical, environmental, and population-level health data across all provinces and providing a national access point to deeply characterized and longitudinal health and lifestyle information, more so than any other entity in Canada. Here, the team will build upon CanPath’s existing national infrastructure to democratize access to the CanPath platform to better enable Canadian-led innovation and discovery. They will develop and pilot a data safe haven (DSH), a secure environment within which researchers, clinicians and industry in Canada can access deeply characterized population health and biobank data. In partnership with Adela, they will generate genomic data that will be hosted alongside clinical and population data of consented CanPath participants from across Canada within this secure digital framework. The DSH holds the potential to launch Canada to the forefront of genomic medicine globally. It will also support the development of Canada’s biotechnology sector and industry research as well as creating the ability to harmonize with leading precision medicine programs. The ultimate result will be earlier diagnosis of disease, advances in medical interventions, and improved health system performance for Canadians.” https://bit.ly/43JPW3q