Research Programs
OUR APPROACH
We convene extraordinary minds to address the most important questions facing science and humanity.
CIFAR's research programs bring together international, interdisciplinary researchers who work together for five-year terms. Programs are led by a director or two co-directors, engage approximately 20-40 fellows and advisors from around the world, and include two or three CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars for two-year terms.
CIFAR research programs create impact beyond academia through a highly collaborative strategy. Target areas for impact emerge from the program’s core research agenda, and the strategy is informed by long-term, iterative exchange of ideas and perspectives between program members and non-academic stakeholders.
IMPACT CLUSTERS
CIFAR’s research programs are organized into 5 distinct Impact Clusters that address significant global issues and are committed to fostering an environment in which breakthroughs emerge.
Each cluster bridges CIFAR’s diverse global community by looking ahead to the challenges on the horizon, encouraging scholars from across disciplines to work collaboratively towards a bold and innovative future. Research programs may span multiple clusters depending on the nature and goals of their work.
2003, 2007, 2012, 2019
Child & Brain Development
How do childhood experiences affect lifelong health?
2019
Earth 4D: Subsurface Science & Exploration
How do life, water and energy interact between the Earth’s vast subsurface and surface environments?
1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016
Gravity & the Extreme Universe
What is extreme gravity, and how can it help us understand the origin of the universe?
2014, 2020
Humans & the Microbiome
How do microbes that live in and on us affect our health, development and even behaviour?
2004, 2008, 2014, 2019
Learning in Machines & Brains
How do we understand intelligence and build intelligent machines?
2002, 2007, 2012, 2019
Quantum Information Science
How do we harness the power of quantum mechanics to improve information processing?
1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2019
Quantum Materials
How could quantum materials transform our society?
The following are completing their work as CIFAR programs:
2005, 2010, 2016
Genetic Networks
How do the interactions among genes influence health and development?
2014
Molecular Architecture of Life
How does life originate and what are the processes that make life possible?
OUR FELLOWS
CIFAR fellows are collaborative researchers at the top of their fields.
Our community of fellows, advisors, CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars, and Canada CIFAR AI Chairs includes more than 400 researchers from 18 countries. They regularly contribute to papers in the top 1% of most-cited papers worldwide. Fellows are selected for academic and communication excellence, and for how their expertise fits into the goals of a program.
CATALYST FUND
We encourage our community of researchers to work across programs and disciplines.
Through Catalyst Funds, we facilitate and support high-risk ideas and projects within and across CIFAR’s portfolio of research programs. The time-limited grants provide flexibility for early-stage projects, encourage interdisciplinary collaborations, and address emerging and exploratory themes within or between research programs.
Research News
Discover the latest advances from our community.
AI and Society
Beyond privacy: it’s time for a rights-based approach to regulating AI for children
New CIFAR AI Insights report proposes tools for policymakers that extend beyond standard privacy-driven strategies for d...
April 24, 2024
AI and Society
CIFAR AI Insights - Responsible AI and Children: Insights, Implications, and Best Practices
Proposing tools for policymakers in regulating AI for children that extend beyond standard privacy-driven strategies
April 24, 2024
AI and Society
CIFAR’s AI for Health Solution Networks hold first meetings
Two new CIFAR Solution Networks, Integrated AI for Health Imaging and AI for Diabetes Prediction & Prevention, recently...
March 13, 2024
AI and Society
Machine MD: Case Study 5
This report is the outcome of the Machine MD: Law and Ethics Case Study on The Intelligent Powered Wheelchair.
December 15, 2023
AI and Society
CIFAR AI Insights: Regulatory Transformation in the Age of AI
Providing policymakers with tools and strategies for a new way of thinking about AI regulation.
November 21, 2023
AI and Society
Policy advice for navigating regulation in the age of AI: think bigger
New report from the CIFAR AI Insights Policy Briefs series cautions that current efforts to regulate AI are doomed to fa...
November 21, 2023
AI and Society
Generative AI doesn’t have to generate climate disaster
A new report published by CIFAR outlines basic steps for policymakers on how to measure and address the environmental im...
September 25, 2023
AI and Society
CIFAR AI Insights: Towards Measuring and Mitigating the Environmental Impacts of Large Language Models
Advice for government, regulators and developers on how to minimize environmental impacts across the full life cycle of...
September 25, 2023
Advances
The racial wealth gap: How it started and how we can fix it
The racial wealth gap in the United States hasn’t changed in 70 years. CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar Ellora Derenoncour...
September 06, 2023
Advances
Social media fuelling youth mental health crisis? CIFAR researcher cites other causes
In May, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory about the impact of social media on adolescent mental health, refuel...
August 25, 2023Support Us
CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.