Leadership Awards for Excellence in Vaccine Research

Preparing for and responding to current and emerging infectious disease threats is an enduring priority of the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III), and its importance was underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Leadership Awards for Excellence in Vaccine Research support the career development of mid-career researchers and contribute to national and international efforts to prevent and prepare for future global health threats, while positioning Canada as a leader in this field.

In 2022, III funded six mid-career researchers to pursue vaccine research projects focused on epidemic and pandemic preparedness, including five in collaboration with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). In 2026, III funded an additional six mid-career researchers to pursue projects in priority areas identified by applicant partners. Four awards supported collaborations with CEPI, while two supported collaborations with the National Research Council Canada (NRC).

Awardees

Read a full list of awardees and their project abstracts

2026 Recipients

An RNA vaccine platform for Disease X using enhanced immune display

Principal Investigator: Dr. Anna Blakney
Applicant Partner: CEPI

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with CEPI to advance next-generation mRNA vaccine technologies for emerging infectious diseases. This award will support our team’s efforts to develop faster, more flexible vaccine platforms that could help the world respond more quickly and effectively when new outbreak threats arise.”

Developing a multi-valent paramyxovirus vaccine

Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Kozak
Applicant Partner: CEPI

“This is an incredible opportunity to work with CEPI to develop a Canadian-made broadly protective vaccine against multiple emerging viruses. Not only is the goal to generate pre-clinical data so that we are better prepared, but also to train the next generation of Canadian scientists in vaccinology”

A human-relevant microphysiological model to de-risk vaccine development in pregnancy

Principal Investigator: Dr. Hagar Labouta
Applicant Partner: NRC

“As a scientist and a mother of two, I know how often pregnant women are asked to make decisions about vaccines without the evidence they deserve. My drive is to replace that uncertainty with answers. This award is a chance to build the kind of evidence regulators and developers need to include pregnant people with confidence, and my hope is that it helps make maternal immunization faster, safer, and more equitable.”

Development of next-generation inhaled vaccines for prevention of respiratory virus epidemics/pandemics

Principal Investigator: Dr. Matthew S. Miller
Applicant Partner: CEPI

“The CIHR Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential will provide our team with a timely opportunity to expand on an exciting new vaccine platform developed entirely in Canada for the prevention of a larger suite of respiratory viral pathogens with epidemic/pandemic potential. The partnership with CEPI will amplify opportunities for integration and collaboration amongst CEPI's global network, and will advance recognition of Canada's vaccine leadership on a global scale.”

Accelerating pandemic readiness: an AI platform for rapid diagnostics and vaccine evaluation

Principal Investigator: Dr. Angela Rasmussen
Applicant Partner: CEPI

“We currently don't have the ability to predict what the outcome of an experimental vaccine will be in an emergency. This would greatly speed up prioritization of vaccines when they are needed immediately, as with the Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak occurring now in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. PathoGENESys will allow us to predict how well a vaccine will work in the time it takes to run a PCR assay.”

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jean-Simon Diallo
Applicant Partner: NRC
2022 Recipients

Harnessing memory T cells to improve vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Principal Investigator: Dr. Hélène Decaluwe
Award: CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential

“I feel excited and privileged to be honoured by this CIHR-CEPI award. This collaborative study will examine how protective T-cell memory to SARS-CoV-2 infection is maintained and will lead to the development of new molecular tools to track these memory T cells through time in large cohorts of infected or vaccinated individuals.”

A universal coronavirus vaccine

Principal Investigator: Dr. Alyson Ann Kelvin
Award: CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential

“This is truly a dream. For years I aimed to decrease the global burden of respiratory viruses through vaccine research. Now the support from CEPI, CIHR, and VIDO, will increase the potential of my work on pan-coronavirus vaccines preventing infection of many viruses with one shot.”

Enhancing COVID-19 vaccines through humoral immunity

Principal Investigator: Dr. Manish Sadarangani
Award: CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential

“This is a great opportunity for collaboration between Canadian researchers and the global research community to improve COVID-19 vaccines and future pandemic responses by improving our understanding of vaccine immunity.”

New animal model for Lassa Fever pathogenesis and vaccine studies

Principal Investigator: Dr. David Safronetz
Award: CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential

“In partnership with CEPI and CIHR, we aim to develop T-cell depletion models for the study of Lassa virus pathogenesis. These studies are the first step in improving our understanding on how a made-in-Canada Lassa fever vaccine elicits protection from Lassa virus infection.”

Building global capacity for vaccine safety evaluation

Principal Investigator: Dr. Karina Top
Award: CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential

“I’m grateful to CIHR and CEPI for this funding which will enable us to study the causes and risk factors for rare adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in patients from around the world to ultimately help make vaccines even safer.”

Optimizing a novel adjuvant for pandemic preparedness

Principal Investigator: Dr. Darryl Falzarano
Award: CIHR Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential

“We want to have our vaccine adjuvant. That is capable of reducing virus transmission. Ready for the next pandemic. Sitting on the shelf. Stable. Ready to go. For a subunit vaccine for you.”
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