CIHR awards McMaster researchers nearly $19M for 19 projects

The 19 funded projects span antimicrobial resistance, cancer, cardiovascular and kidney care, child health, rehabilitation, serious illness, surgical care, and more.

By Mike Ayers and Lisa Polewski July 29, 2026

Exterior of McMaster University's main street entrance with flowers in a garden shaped into an “M” formation, the McMaster Children’s Hospital is seen in the background.

Researchers across McMaster University faculties of Health Sciences, Engineering and Science have secured nearly $19 million through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Spring 2026 Project Grant competition. (Photo by Georgia Kirkos, McMaster University)

Nineteen projects led by McMaster researchers have been awarded with nearly $19 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Spanning research across the faculties of Health Sciences, Engineering and Science, the newly funded projects through the Spring 2026 Project Grant competition address antimicrobial resistance, cancer, cardiovascular and kidney care, child health, rehabilitation, serious illness and surgical care.

The awards also support fundamental biomedical research into infectious disease and cancer biology, alongside clinical trials and health services research aimed at improving patient outcomes and informing future care.

“This funding is integral in helping McMaster conduct research that has a tangible real-world impact,” said Gianni Parise, Vice-President, Research. “The wide range of projects that are supported through the CIHR’s Project Grants demonstrate the interdisciplinary excellence on display here at McMaster and the collaborative spirit of innovation that drives our researchers forward.”

Learn more about the projects that have been awarded funding:

Spring 2026 Project Grant recipients

Project title	McMaster principal investigator	Department(s)
Analysis of Pre-pregnancy and Pregnancy-Related Obesity on Adult and Child Health (APPROACH)	Laura Anderson	Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact
TRACER – Transition to Adult Care through Coaching and Empowerment in Rheumatology: A multicentre randomized-controlled trial	Michelle Batthish	Department of Pediatrics
A systems biology approach to understanding resistance-associated fitness trade-offs in bacteria	Eric Brown	Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
PACE-BP Pilot Trial: Feasibility and Safety of a Pragmatic Comparative Effectiveness Trial of First-Line Antihypertensive Therapies in Children	Rahul Chanchlani	Department of Pediatrics
Overcoming Salmonella immune evasion with targeted therapeutic strategies	Brian Coombes	Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
The ENVISAGE-Families Randomized Controlled Trial: Empowering Canadian family caregivers during critical wait periods for developmental services	Andrea Cross; Peter Rosenbaum	Department of Pediatrics
Simultaneous Integrated Boost (SIB) for Ultra-Hypofractionated (UH) Adjuvant Radiotherapy in High Risk Early Stage Breast Cancer	Elysia Donovan; Sameer Parpia; Timothy Whelan	Department of Oncology
The Proximal Femur Reconstruction Or Internal Fixation For Metastases (PERFORM) Randomized Controlled Trial	Michelle Ghert; Sheila Ann Sprague	Department of Surgery
Investigating the role of germline-mediated immunoediting in glioma	Katie Houlahan	Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
Fast track pathway to eArly cholecyStecTomy vErsus usual caRe in high-risk acute cholecystitis (FASTER) Trial-vanguard phase	Flavia Kessler Borges	Department of Medicine
A technology assisted therapeutic walking program (Walk-BEST) to improve function in people reporting symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: a pilot and feasibility trial	Ayse Kuspinar	School of Rehabilitation Science
REVIVE-AMR: Impact of azithromycin on antimicrobial resistance in adults with advanced HIV disease in sub-Saharan Africa	Dominik Mertz; Shrikant Bangdiwala; John Eikelboom; Adam Komorowski	Department of Medicine; Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact
Satisfaction in Hemodialysis Patients On ShoWERing With CVCs and Healed Exit Sites: the SHOWER study	Amber Molnar	Department of Medicine
Improving Patient- and Family-Reported Outcomes for serious illness: Piloting real-world adaptations of the “Waiting Room Revolution” educational intervention	Hsien Seow	Department of Oncology
The effect of retrograde autologous priming on transfusion requirements after cardiac surgery (TheRAPy): a multiple period cluster-randomized crossover trial	Jessica Spence; Deborah Siegal	Department of Anesthesia; Department of Medicine
Investigation of a host-targeting type VI secretion system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa	John Whitney	Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences
A Pan-Canadian, Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration	Dena Zeraatkar; Varun Chaudhary	Department of Anesthesia; Department of Surgery
Protein Aptalyzer: A Wearable Health Monitoring Platform for Improving Postoperative Care Outside the Hospital	Leyla Soleymani; Bernardo Trigatti	Department of Engineering Physics
The ASCC complex connects replication stress to the cGAS-STING-mediated innate immune response in clear cell renal cell carcinoma	Xu-dong Zhu	Department of Biology