Six MSL faculty involved in projects funded through Spring 2026 CIHR Grant competition

Six MSL faculty members are involved in projects recently funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant: Spring 2026 competition. This includes a project led by Dr. Thibault Mayor studying cell quality-control systems and disease-causing protein mutations, and one led by Dr. Xin Tang using AI models to find therapeutic targets for synovial sarcoma.

This funding competition awarded approximately $412 million across Canada in research grants, and an additional $1.9 million in priority announcement grants. At UBC, 51 research projects earned a total of $45.8 million in Project and Priority Announcement Grants.

Left to right, top row: Drs. Thibault Mayor, Jörg Gsponer, Marco Marra. Left to right, bottom row: Drs. Xin Tang, Martin Hirst, Leonard Foster

Project Grants:

Molecular Principles Governing Degron Recognition in Misfolded Cytosolic Proteins with Pathological Missense Mutations
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Thibault Mayor (MSL, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Co-Investigator(s): Dr. Jörg Gsponer (MSL, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
$1,143,676 (5 years)

Deciphering Immune Evasion in Synovial Sarcoma through Interpretable AI and Validation Experiments
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Xin Tang (MSL, Computer Science), Dr. Michael Underhill (Cellular & Physiological Sciences; School of Biomedical Engineering)
Co-Investigator(s): Dr. Martin Hirst (MSL, Microbiology & Immunology), Dr. Kelly McNagny (School of Biomedical Engineering, Medical Genetics), Dr. Torsten Nielsen (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)
$948,600 (5 years)

A single-cell spatial analysis of the impact of air pollution exposure on molecular pathways in lung cancer
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Emilia Lim (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Co-Investigator(s): Dr. Marco Marra (MSL, Medical Genetics), Dr. Anna McGuire (Surgery), Dr. Julia Naso (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)
$910,352 (4 years)

Alamar discovery of plasma biomarkers that distinguish dementia subtypes, inform on disease staging and predict rate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
Principal Investigator(s): Dr. Cheryl Wellington (Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)
Co-Investigator(s): Calon, Frédéric; Chavula, Thandiwe W; Chertkow, Howard M; Cooper, Jennifer; Dixon, Roger A; Domeier, Phillip P; Foster, Leonard J (MSL, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology); Futhey, Naomi; Hirsch Reinshagen, Veronica; Horwitz, Marc S; Hsiung, Ging-Yuek R; Mackenzie, Ian R; Smith, Rachael J; Stukas, Sophie; Zhong, Huan (MSL Postdoctoral Fellow)
$1,699,389 (4 years)

Quick links:

• Read the announcement from UBC VPRI about all UBC-led projects
• Learn more about the Canadian Institutes of Health Research 2026 Spring Project Grants