What's New at CIHR-III: A Message from the Scientific Director
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you all enjoyed the summer and found time to recharge as we begin a new academic year. As I enter my last year as Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (CIHR-III), I am excited to share some recent highlights and upcoming initiatives that are helping to shape the future of infection and immunity research in Canada.
In April, CIHR-III hosted its first Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence (REDI) Early Career Transition Award Forum in King City, Ontario. This milestone event brought together the inaugural cohort of REDI award recipients and their mentors, alongside funding partners and CIHR representatives, for two inspiring days of presentations and networking. Looking ahead, we are excited to launch the second iteration of the REDI program this fall — a major investment in equity and early career development, delivered through CIHR in partnership with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Breakthrough T1D Canada. Co-led by CIHR-III and the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health, this next phase expands eligibility to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis scholars, as well as racialized gender-diverse researchers, reinforcing our commitment to inclusive excellence in research.
In May, CIHR-III held its 59th Institute Advisory Board (IAB) meeting in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, bringing together staff, advisory board members, and inaugural members of our Community Advisory Committee. The two-day meeting featured thoughtful discussions, distinguished guest presentations, and a vibrant community research event co-hosted by Memorial University's Faculty of Medicine. That momentum continued through national conferences hosted by the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI), the Canadian Society of Microbiology (CSM), the Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR), and the STI & HIV World Congress, where CIHR-III proudly hosted early career researcher and community events.
The CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Advisory Committee (CHASRAC) met in Ottawa in the Spring, and partnered with the AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) to host a community event focused on improving access to HIV care and sexual health services in community settings. CIHR's HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative launched the Indigenous Centres for STBBI Research funding opportunity as a continuation of the foundational work of the Feast Centre for Indigenous STBBI Research and the Waniska Indigenous Centre on HIV/HCV/STBBI Inequities. In June 2025, we were pleased to participate in the National Treatment as Prevention (TasP) Summit organized by the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) to address rising HIV incidence in Canada and global threats to progress.
CIHR-III also remains committed to strengthening Canada's response to global health challenges and infectious disease threats. Earlier this summer, CIHR-III launched the second iteration of our flagship Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research. This $1.8 million initiative, supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the National Research Council Canada (NRC), will fund up to six mid-career researchers to strengthen Canada's capacity to prevent and respond to global health threats of epidemic potential.
As part of our strategic initiatives, we continue to continue to advance antimicrobial resistance (AMR) initiatives. CIHR-III supported Canadian participation in the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR) Final Conference 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden, celebrating over a decade of global collaboration to combat AMR. Nationally, CIHR is leading the development of a National One Health AMR Research Strategy in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). This strategy, which aims to define national research priorities as part of Pan-Canadian AMR Action Plan (PCAP), is on track to be finalized in the next year.
Finally, I am delighted to announce the return of a flagship CIHR-III event: the New Investigator Forum (NIF). Supported through the ICS Travel Awards competition, the Spring 2026 NIF will take place in King City, Ontario, from April 14 to 16, 2026. This event provides early career researchers and late-stage postdoctoral fellows with valuable opportunities for mentorship, networking, and leadership development as they transition to independent research careers in infection and immunity.
For updates on all CIHR-III initiatives, I encourage you to subscribe to our biweekly e-bulletin and join our research community on LinkedIn. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our team anytime at iii-imii@cihr-irsc.gc.ca — we always welcome your questions, ideas, and input!
Sincerely,
Charu Kaushic
Scientific Director,
CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity
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