Weston Family Foundation investing $20 million to advance health innovation in Canada.

Our newest funding strategy to help scale projects with evident potential to have a real-world impact

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TORONTO, ON – September 23, 2025, Launched in 2025, the Weston Family Foundation is making a $20 million investment to scale cutting-edge Canadian research projects at the forefront of innovation. This approach builds on the Foundation’s “Spark, Sheperd, Scale” funding philosophy — supporting innovative ideas at initial stages, then providing significant funding to accelerate the most promising work into real-world impact.

After a rigorous review process, two projects falling under our Healthy Aging Strategy, comprised of the Weston Brain Institute and Weston Family Microbiome Initiative. Each received $10 million in funding. The following scaling investments align with our mission to catalyze innovation in health research:

McGill University – Led by Dr. Pedro Rosa-Neto

Project Title: The Next Generation of Biomarkers

Focus: Advancing the next generation of biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease to enable earlier diagnosis, precise monitoring, and more effective personalized therapies.

University of Alberta and University of Ottawa – Led by Dr. Heather Armstrong, and Dr. Alain Stintzi

Project Title: Microbiome-Based Precision Nutrition for Optimal IBD Health

Focus: Developing microbiome-based nutrition tools to improve outcomes for people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

These grants represent our commitment to supporting research that extends beyond initial funding. When early results show promise, we aim to move projects through our funding funnel, allowing teams to expand their scope, speed up progress, and increase the chance of delivering solutions that can reach more people, faster.

By supporting bold, high-risk research at scale, the Foundation creates space for Canadian researchers to tackle urgent health challenges, evaluate new paradigms, and improve lives.

For more information, please refer to the link below:

Media Release