By: Liz Do
4 Mar, 2026
CIFAR announces research program decisions for 2025-2026
March 4, 2026
Six programs renewed as CIFAR sharpens its global research portfolio
CIFAR has announced the outcomes of its latest research program review, reaffirming its mission to support bold, interdisciplinary research that addresses some of the most pressing challenges facing science and humanity.
Following an extensive review process – including assessments by independent expert review panels and CIFAR’s Research Council — the Board of Directors has approved the renewal of six research programs. These decisions are guided by CIFAR’s unique model, which focuses on “horizon challenges” unlikely to be resolved through incremental progress and that require a long-term, collaborative approach.
Programs Renewed Span Multiple Disciplines
The following programs have been renewed to continue their transformative work:
- Boundaries, Membership & Belonging: This program explores how the boundaries between “us” and “them” are drawn and contested in various societies, and why these boundaries are central to today’s challenges of democracy, migration, solidarity, prejudice and violence. Bringing together philosophers, legal scholars and social scientists, the program considers how progress towards more inclusive societies requires compelling visions of membership. A distinctive feature of the program is its commitment to bringing perspectives from the global South and Indigenous peoples into conversation with mainstream Western social science.
- Brain, Mind & Consciousness: This program integrates neuroscience, philosophy, artificial intelligence and developmental psychology perspectives to study the nature of consciousness across humans, nonhuman animals and synthetic biological systems. The program aims to identify the evolutionary functions of conscious experience, develop clinical and computational markers for its detection, and characterize the vast diversity of human experience.
- Earth 4D: Subsurface Science & Exploration: This multidisciplinary team draws on geology, chemistry and planetary science to investigate the vast, unexplored world beneath the Earth’s surface, and how Earth’s systems provide analogs for understanding habitability on other planets. Their research informs our understanding of Earth’s resources, the water cycle and the capacity of a planet to sustain life as it evolves and changes.
- Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities: Diverse experts in this program interrogate the complexity of fungi as both deadly pathogens and essential ecosystem members. Their work focuses on mitigating fungal threats while harnessing their extraordinary potential.
- Humans & the Microbiome: This program brings together social scientists and biologists to comprehensively redefine well-being and health from a microbiome-centric perspective. They examine how to define, measure, and enhance integrated microbial health across humans and the environment.
- Innovation, Equity & the Future of Prosperity: With expertise across the social sciences, humanities and engineering, this program advances scholarship on pre-distributive innovations (PDIs) — technologies and socio-technical systems that shape markets toward equity — focused empirically on AI, care and housing. Their goal is to generate inclusive, positive feedback loops between innovation and public policy that mitigate rather than exacerbate inequality.
“These decisions are a testament to both the strength of the programs and the importance of a rigorous, global review process,” said Kate Geddie, Executive Director, Research at CIFAR. “By bringing together independent experts and our Research Council, we ensure CIFAR’s portfolio continues to evolve and support bold, interdisciplinary ideas with the greatest potential for impact.”
“On behalf of CIFAR, I would like to congratulate the members of these programs,” said Stephen Toope, President & CEO of CIFAR. “Their renewal reflects a shared commitment to a long-term vision and celebrates the transformative potential of their research to advance global knowledge.”
Celebrating the Legacy of Accelerated Decarbonization
As part of the regular review process, the Board of Directors has also made the difficult decision to sunset CIFAR’s Accelerated Decarbonization program by March 31, 2027. Sunsetting is a normal part of CIFAR’s review process and reflects our portfolio approach to assess renewal, including alignment with our interdisciplinary model.
Exploring the science underpinning decarbonization, Accelerated Decarbonization has driven discovery toward a carbon-balanced future. Its achievements include:
- Accelerating Reactive Carbon Capture: By bringing together academic and industry expertise, the program advanced technologies that convert captured CO2 directly into useful fuels, eliminating energy-intensive recovery steps. This work helped catalyze the creation of Sora Fuel, a company commercializing electrochemical reactors to turn captured carbon into liquid fuels, and attracted major international investment and government support.
- Pioneering Artificial Photosynthesis: Building on its earlier phase as the Bio-Inspired Solar Energy program, researchers developed concepts for energy-relevant chemical transformations inspired by biology. This work laid the foundation for integrated technologies that convert sunlight, water and CO2 into sustainable fuels.
“The Accelerated Decarbonization program has brought together an exceptionally talented community of researchers who have transformed our understanding of how to tackle the climate crisis at a fundamental level,” says Geddie.
“Their work leaves a lasting imprint on the global research landscape, providing the scientific foundation for technologies that will serve as the backbone of a net-zero future,” she added. “We are proud of the impact achieved by this program and look forward to celebrating the program’s achievements as part of our ongoing future-shaping story.”
Looking to the Future
CIFAR continues to manage a vibrant portfolio of research programs, convening more than 500 of the world’s top researchers. The program review process remains a cornerstone of CIFAR’s strategy, with three programs expected to be reviewed in 2027-28.