Terry Fox Research Institute announces pan-Canadian project teams approved for $25M Digital Health Innovation Fund

VANCOUVER, BC, [16 September, 2026] — The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) today announced that 14 pan-Canadian research teams have been approved to receive funding through its first Digital Health Innovation Fund (DHIF), a national funding program led by TFRI’s Digital Health & Discovery Platform (DHDP).

The selected projects represent a total value of $40.9M and bring together 55 partners from across Canada—small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), academic institutions, and healthcare organizations—to accelerate health data sharing for AI-driven discovery in precision medicine.

“TFRI is excited to announce the Digital Health Innovation Fund project teams that will help accelerate safe and secure health data sharing for precision medicine advances across Canada,” said Dr. Jim Woodgett, TFRI’s President and Scientific Director. “These collaborations show research and enterprise coming together to drive innovation and accelerate clinical care, enabling personalized treatments tailored to the individual patient.”

The projects will leverage the DHDP’s novel federated learning platform to unlock new collaborations through secure data sharing and analysis. Using the DHDP, researchers can analyze vast amounts of complex health data across institutions without moving it, preserving privacy while unlocking new insights using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Teams will work to improve diagnosis and treatment across cancer, neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, ophthalmology, and other conditions.

The DHIF is supported by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) through the Strategic Response Fund, reflecting a national commitment to advancing Canada’s digital health ecosystem and knowledge economy.

“Collaboration on data sharing is essential to ensuring that advancements in precision medicine benefit patients across Canada,” said Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. “The Digital Health & Discovery Platform led by the Terry Fox Research Institute is bringing research institutions and SMEs on board as key players. Connecting researchers across the country through this federated learning platform ensures data security but also builds Canada’s global reputation in digital healthcare AI while maintaining our digital sovereignty.”   

Since launching its call for proposals in March 2025, the DHIF has generated strong interest across Canada’s digital health sector. More than 200 Expressions of Interest were submitted, with multidisciplinary teams advancing through a competitive selection process to reach the final 14 funded projects.

Together, these teams are tackling critical challenges in healthcare, including:

• Using AI-powered imaging for real-time cancer detection during surgery
• Developing personalized approaches to diabetes care and mental health support
• Diversifying skin cancer diagnostics for early detection through inclusion of Indigenous data
• Enabling faster, more accurate vision care for remote and underserved communities
• Building national, privacy-preserving health data infrastructure

Project partners span every region of the country and include leading research centres such as Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, alongside innovative Canadian SMEs working at the forefront of digital health and AI.

Healthcare data is incredibly valuable, but it's also highly sensitive and fragmented. Federated learning gives us a way to collaborate across institutions while respecting privacy, governance, and data sovereignty. By focusing on a privacy-by-design, federated learning approach, the DHDP breaks down traditional data silos, allowing researchers to collaborate more effectively. Feedback from DHIF teams will further refine the platform’s capabilities, ensuring it meets the needs of users across research and healthcare settings.

The Digital Health Innovation Fund represents the next phase of TFRI’s commitment to advancing collaborative, data-driven research, building on its leadership in national initiatives such as the Terry Fox New Frontiers Program Projects Grants and the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. The second DHIF Request for Applications, which was announced at ALL IN — Canada’s largest AI and tech event, launches this fall.

“We’re excited to be working with SMEs and researchers across Canada in the collaborative projects for the Digital Health Innovation Fund,” says Josip Maras, National Director for the Digital Health & Discovery Platform. “Each brings a wealth of experience and skills; built by users for users, the Digital Health & Discovery Platform will accelerate precision medicine research and boost Canada’s knowledge economy.”

More information on funded projects and participating organizations is available at https://www.dhdp.ca/projects .

For more information, please contact:

Amanda Maxwell, Communications Specialist, DHDP
Terry Fox Research Institute
(778) 652-2590
amaxwell@tfri.ca

About the Terry Fox Research Institute 

Established in 2007, the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) invests in world-class, collaborative cancer research teams and partnerships across Canada. Through its flagship research programs and national precision medicine initiatives, TFRI connects leading scientists, clinicians, and institutions to accelerate cancer discoveries and translate research into improved patient care. By leveraging Canada's research strengths and fostering collaboration at a national scale, TFRI supports innovative research aimed at transforming how cancer is detected, diagnosed, treated, and ultimately prevented.

About the Digital Health & Discovery Platform

The Digital Health & Discovery Platform (DHDP) is a pan-Canadian initiative led by the Terry Fox Research Institute, with a funding allocation of $49 million through Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada. Please visit the following link for more details on the DHDP and our new funding opportunity: Digital Health Innovation Fund. Focused on improving health outcomes for Canadians by bringing together health researchers, AI and data scientists, and industry partners to advance precision medicine, the Digital Health Innovation Fund supports collaboration in secure health data sharing to accelerate research in precision medicine. 

About Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) works with Canadians in all areas of the economy and in all parts of the country to improve conditions for investment, enhance Canada's innovation performance, increase Canada's share of global trade and build a fair, efficient and competitive marketplace. We are the federal institution that leads the Innovation, Science and Economic Development portfolio.

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Supplemental Information--Appendix A: Project and team details 

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