Natalie Zeytuni

McGill University

Project name: Selective Inhibition of Bacterial Surface Structures to Restore Oral Microbiome Symbiosis

This research aims to selectively disarm pathogenic bacteria by targeting their adhesion machinery, shifting or restoring the oral microbiome toward a healthier balance without using traditional antibiotics. Funding gives the team the resources to combine cutting-edge structural biology with AI-guided protein design, accelerating the development of interventions that target harmful bacteria while leaving beneficial microbes intact.

Douglas Mahoney

University of Calgary

Project name: Optimization of a Novel Microbiome-derived Immunotherapy adjuvant Hydroxyphenyl propanoate

This research focuses on creating safe, affordable medicines inspired by helpful gut bacteria to help the body’s immune system fight cancer more effectively. Funding is enabling the crucial late-stage preclinical work needed to move these discoveries out of the lab and toward real-world clinical testing, filling a major funding gap that will allow the team to continue developing a new microbiome-based cancer drug for eventual evaluation in patients.

Keith Sharkey

University of Calgary

Project name: Harnessing the Power of the gut Microbiota for Personalized treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

This research takes a comparative look at the gut microbiome in human ALS patients and ALS mice to identify potential therapeutic targets and approaches that can be tested in the clinic. Funding provides the team the opportunity to develop a pipeline for novel therapeutics and build a team that can take results from the bench to the clinic within a 3-year period, offering new hope to the ALS patient community.

Corinne Maurice

McGill University

Project title: Phage-Bacteria Dynamics in Early Life: Shaping Gut Maturation in Health and Obesity

This research explores how viruses that infect bacteria, called bacteriophages, shape the gut microbiome of infants at risk of obesity. By unlocking these natural microbial interactions, the team will develop innovative microbiome-based strategies that promote healthy growth and prevent obesity from the very start of life. This high-impact project is the first step toward turning cutting-edge science into practical tools to support gut health and reduce childhood obesity risk in Canada and beyond.

Sue Tsai

University of Alberta

Project title: Investigating the Impact of Maternal milk on offspring Microbiome and Autoimmunity

This research explores how maternal milk-borne factors influence early-life immune development and gut microbiome composition, with the goal of developing effective preventative strategies using maternal immune modulation and early microbiome interventions to reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases in offspring. Funding will support all aspects of this proof-of-principle study, including patient recruitment, sample collection, data analysis, interpretation.

Stefania Ronzoni

Sinai Health System

Project title: PROMISE-PTB: Phase 1 Feasibility Randomized Trial of Lactobacillus crispatus Supplementation to Modulate the Vaginal Microbiome in Individuals with Prior Spontaneous Preterm Birth

This research targets the vaginal microbiome with Lactobacillus crispatus to create a new, biologically grounded strategy to prevent recurrent spontaneous preterm birth. By testing this microbiome-based approach to reduce inflammation, the funding support is enabling the team to launch this innovative pilot study and build the evidence needed for a future national trial.

Dina Kao

University of Alberta

Project title: A multi-center, Randomized Controlled trial comparing Fecal Microbiota Transplantation to Placebo in an expanded Ulcerative colitis patient population: a feasibility study (FRONTIER-UC) 

This research explores the possibility that microbiome intervention in the form of fecal transplant, as a combination therapy with advanced agents such as biologics and small molecules, can improve clinical outcomes for patients with ulcerative colitis where current treatment does not address imbalance in gut bacteria. Funding will allow the team to conduct a feasibility study to identify which ulcerative colitis patients are most likely to benefit from this combination approach.

Natasha Haskey

University of British Columbia, Okanagan

Project title: Sulfur on the Breath: Using Breath Biomarkers to Monitor Gut Microbial Sulfur Metabolism During Elemental and Reduced Sulfur Dietary Therapy  

This research uses targeted dietary interventions to shift key microbial pathways linked to inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease, identifying which nutrition strategies truly improve symptoms and gut health. Funding allows the team to generate high-quality microbiome data and test innovative dietary strategies, accelerating the translation of microbiome science into practical, evidence-based tools for patients.

Troy Perry

University of Alberta

Project title: Bacterial Penetration and Aberrations in enteric glial signalling in severe pediatric Crohn’s disease

This research seeks to define the microbial interactions with cells of the enteric nervous system in pediatric Crohn’s disease, with the goal of reversing the inflammatory phenotype of enteric glial cells through manipulation of gut microbes and their metabolites. Funding has provided essential support and valuable study design feedback that will allow the team to interrogate a biobank of Crohn’s tissues as they uncover the role of the enteric nervous system in intestinal inflammation.

Christophe Altier

University of Calgary

Project Name: From Remission to residual Symptoms: the hidden impact of post-inflammatory dysbiosis in Ulcerative Colitis

This research investigates how gut microbiome changes sustain pain and fatigue in IBD patients after inflammation has resolved. By identifying bacteria and metabolites that activate the ALKAL2 pain pathway in gut nerves, the team aims to develop microbiome-based or molecular treatments to relieve chronic pain. Funding support enables the team to link specific microbial changes to nerve sensitization and test therapies that block this pathway, working toward new non-opioid approaches to managing pain and fatigue in IBD.

Neeraj Narula

McMaster University

Project Name: A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial Assessing the Efficacy of Oral Vancomycin on Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Patients: REVAmP – Pilot Study 

This research targets the microbiome in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC)-Ulcerative Colitis (UC) pat ients using a non-absorbable antibiotic that modulates gut dysbiosis, with the aim of generating preliminary efficacy data to support larger trials that could transform clinical guidelines for this high-risk population. Funding enables comprehensive microbiome and metabolomic analyses, supports patient recruitment and safety monitoring, and will facilitate the mechanistic insights needed to advance microbiome-based therapies toward multicenter trials and regulatory approval.

Sally Lawrence

BC Children’s Hospital

Project Name: Therapeutic Efficacy of a food additive-free blended diet as an alternative to standard exclusive enteral nutrition in pediatric Crohn’s disease

This research aims to determine the relationship between microbiota-modulatory effects and clinical outcomes for Crohn’s disease patients following a novel additive-free, plant-based diet called WholeBlends, comparing it to standard nutritional therapy. Funding supports a multi-center randomized controlled trial to explore how WholeBlends modifies microbial community structure, functional capacity, and metabolite production, laying the foundation for precision nutrition strategies in Crohn’s disease.

Jeremy Burton

St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation of London

Project Name: Improvement of Metabolic Biomarkers of Psychiatric patients through modulation of the Gut microbiota with Apple cider vinegar powder in delayed release capsules

This research addresses the growing burden of metabolic and inflammatory side effects experienced by young adults taking long-term psychiatric and metabolic medications by directly supporting the colon microbiome. Funding enables the team to conduct rigorous clinical testing and build the necessary infrastructure to translate these findings into real-world use, accelerating the path toward an evidence-based tool for improving human metabolic and mental health.

Dennis Cvitkovitch

University of Toronto 

Project Name: Development of a Novel Oral Delivery System to Prevent and Treat Oral Candidiasis through Microbiome Modulation

This research pairs selective, naturally derived antifungal agents with localized oral delivery to develop a thrush therapy designed to protect beneficial oral microbes rather than disrupting them. Funding is enabling the critical work of lead screening, formulation development, and validation in patient-derived polymicrobial biofilm models, as key steps toward a clinical-ready prototype.

Arielle Elkrief

Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal 

Project Name: Next-generation live Biotherapeutic Products to improve Immunotherapy Efficacy in lung cancer and Melanoma

This research seeks to develop the next generation of microbiome therapeutics, learning from the successes of fecal microbiota transplantation and translating these insights into live biotherapeutic products, a promising and scalable opportunity for microbiome drug development in immuno-oncology. Funding will support culturomics from patients enrolled in clinical trials to detect and characterize live bacteria, selecting top candidates for testing in mouse models to provide foundational science for future drug development.

Jon Stokes

McMaster University

Project Name: Precision Antibiotics for Parkinson’s: AI-driven design of E. Faecalis-selective agents

This research focuses on a specific gut bacterium, Enterococcus faecalis, which interferes with Parkinson’s disease treatment by breaking down the drug levodopa before it reaches the brain. By designing highly selective antibiotics against E. faecalis using leading-edge artificial intelligence, the team aims to restore levodopa effectiveness and pioneer new ways to precisely modulate the human microbiome for better neurological health outcomes. Funding support is bringing together world-leading expertise in machine learning, microbiology, neurobiology, and clinical science across Canada to make this possible.

Vincent Fradet

Université Laval

Project Name: A novel Prebiotic tailored for men Combating Prostate Cancer

This research focuses on developing a new prebiotic designed for men with prostate cancer to improve gut health and help slow disease progression, reducing the need for aggressive treatments and improving quality of life. Funding support allows the team to analyze gut microbiome changes in clinical trial participants, accelerating the path toward a safe and affordable new solution for prostate cancer care.