The New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) 2023 Exploration competition has awarded $33 million to support 133 research teams across Canada that bring diverse disciplines together in pursuit of breakthrough ideas and high-reward outcomes. 

Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital, affiliated with uOttawa, were awarded three grants in this competition. Each grant is worth around $250,000 and includes collaborators from multiple institutions. 

Drs. Jean-Simon Diallo and Jeffrey Smith are leading a project exploring the impact of lipids on the production efficiency of viral vectors for vaccines and gene therapies (Co-Investigators: Christopher Boddy, Suzanne Farid). Drs. Manoj Lalu and Kelly Cobey are leading a project to assess the feasibility of CAR-Treg therapy in animal models of acute respiratory distress syndrome (Co-Investigator: Megan Levings. Collaborators: John Bell, Dean Fergusson, Carolina Ilkow, Natasha Kekre, Duncan Stewart. Supporting staff: Forough Jahandideh, Madison Foster.) Drs. Michele Ardolino and Duncan Stewart are leading a project to develop a new immunotherapy to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (Collaborator: Scott McComb).

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.