The University of Manitoba (UM) in partnership with the Universities of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Calgary, has received $57 million in critical funding to conduct world-leading vaccine and biomanufacturing research and build two new innovative facilities, an investment that positions the institution to play a significant role in addressing future pandemic threats in Canada and around the world.

The funding was announced on May 6th by the Government of Canada and included a series of investments from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Canadian Biomedical Research Fund (CBRF) and the Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund (BRIF). The funds are designed to prepare for future health threats by increasing domestic capacity to produce life-saving vaccines.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed gaps in domestic vaccine capacity and pandemic preparedness. To address this vulnerability, the Government of Canada has announced a series of strategic investments to enhance domestic vaccine development and biomanufacturing capacity, including $19 million for research capacity and $29 million to build two innovative research facilities on UM campuses. Remaining funds will be administered to other partner institutions.

Co-directed by Dr. Peter Pelka, professor in the Department of Microbiology in the Faculty of Science at UM, and Dr. Maya Shmulevitz, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta, the multidisciplinary prairie-wide team comprised of UM, Alberta, Calgary and VIDO experts will establish a viral vaccine research and development cluster.