More than $19M from CIHR for 18 CRCHUM teams

As part of the Fall 2025 Project Grants competition launched by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 18 research teams from Université de Montréal’s affiliated hospital research centre (CRCHUM) were awarded more than $19 million in grants.

With more than 26% of applications funded, the CRCHUM’s success rate is well above the national average (13.6%). The excellence of our teams is once again recognized by this highly selective competition.

Congratulations to the entire CRCHUM community for this collective achievement!

Projects receiving funding

• Advancing HIV and hepatitis C elimination among people who inject drugs by Andreea Adelina Artenie, in the Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, will receive $1,113,075 over the next five years.
• Artificial intelligence-based Development and Validation of a New Approach to Predict Efficacy of Treatment for Surgical Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma using Multi-omics (ADVANCE), by Houda Bahig, in the Imaging and Engineering Research Theme, will receive $707,626 over the next three years.
• Oncolytic virotherapy against triple-negative breast cancer: harnessing heterogenous viral sensitivities to improve treatment efficacy, by Marie-Claude Bourgeois-Daigneault, in the Cancer Research Theme, will receive $1,120,725 over the next five years.
• REFIL-2: Effects of an intraoperative low-splanchnic blood volume restrictive fluid management strategy compared to a cardiac output optimized liberal fluid management strategy on postoperative outcomes in liver transplantation: A multicenter randomized controlled trial, by François Martin Carrier, in the Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, will receive $1,778,625 over the next five years.
• Exploiting Innate Immune Sensing to Accelerate the Depletion of HIV Reservoirs by Nicolas Chomont, in the Immunopathology Research Theme, will receive $1,032,750 over the next five years.
• Defining the Lung and Tumor Microbiomes as Drivers of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Development and Progression, by Arielle Elkrief, in the Cancer Research Theme, will receive $918,000 over the next five years.
• Role of the noncoding chromatin in cellular senescence, by Gerardo Ferbeyre, in the Cancer Research Theme, will receive $1,028,925 over the next five years.
• Circuits and cellular interactions mediating immunometabolic mood disturbances, by Stephanie Fulton, in the Cardiometabolic Research Theme, will receive $1,044,225 over the next five years.
• Data, Dignity, and Direction: A Global Study of Orphans and Children Lacking Parental Care, by Mira Johri, in the Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, will receive $941,670 over the next four years.
• Reducing Cannabis Use in Young Adults With Psychosis Using iCanChange, a Mobile Health App: a Clinical Trial (ReCAPiCC), by Didier Jutras-Aswad, in the Neuroscience Research Theme, will receive $1,036,577 over the next five years.
• Peripheral and CNS inflammation and injury profiles in children with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and their association with neurological disability and treatment with mTOR inhibitors: a multicentre, longitudinal study cohort, by Mark Keezer, in the Health Innovation and Evaluation Hub, will receive $1,453,500 over the next five years.
• Feasibility and acceptability of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections screening of partners of pregnant persons, by Valérie Martel-Laferrière, in the Immunopatholoy Reasearch Theme, will receive $439,874 over the next three years.
• Astrocytic glucocorticoid signaling in the PVN tunes stress adaptation, by Ciaran Murphy-Royal, in the Cardiometabolic Research Theme, will receive $1,189,575 over the next five years. · Impact of lipid metabolism in neurodegeneration models, by Alex Parker, in the Neuroscience Research Theme, will receive $952,425 over the next five years.
• Targeting the novel cell adhesion molecule DICAM to curb myeloid cell-associated neuroinflammation, by Alexandre Prat, in the Neuroscience Research Theme, will receive $1,093,950 $ over the next five years.
• Harnessing Humoral Immunity and Bacterial Loss for the Development of a Live Biotherapeutic Product to Improve Microbiome and Immunotherapy Response in Lung Cancer, by Bertrand Routy, in the Cancer Research Theme, will receive $918,000 over the next five years.
• Machine Learning Design of a Colorectal Neoplasia Sizing Tool, by Daniel Von Renteln, in the Imaging and Engineering Research Theme, will receive $1,439,165 over the next five years.
• Unlocking the Potential: The Activation of Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor (AT2R) Prevents Diabetic Kidney Disease in a Sex-Specific Manner, by Shao-Ling Zhang, in the Cardiometabolic Research Theme, will receive $926,650 over the next five years.