CDTRP Innovation Grant

Announcing the results of the 2026 CDTRP Research Innovation Grant Competition – 7 new projects funded!

The CDTRP is happy to share the results of the 2026 CDTRP Research Innovation Grant Competition and welcome 7 new projects into our national research structure. Since 2013, the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP) has supported research and innovation that addresses barriers within the fields of donation and transplantation, with the ultimate goal of advancing long-term health outcomes and quality of life for Canadian transplant patients. CDTRP is very proud to add 7 new projects from devoted and visionary investigators.

This competition was made possible through the generous financial support, dedication and commitment from our national and regional partners, which include:

  1. Astellas Pharma Canada
  2. Organ Donation and Transplant Research Foundation of British Columbia: The Venture Grants
  3. Kidney Foundation of Canada
  4. London Health Sciences Centre
  5. Université de Montréal

We would also like to thank and acknowledge everyone who contributed to the competition and peer review process, including Peer Review Committee Chair Dr. Marie-Chantal Fortin, our scientific reviewers and our patient, family and donor reviewers for participating in the review process and for upholding an excellent level of professionalism and quality.

The 7 new projects that will receive funding and will be added to the CDTRP are:

Sarah Grasedieck & Paul Keown  

Title: Towards integration of sex and sex hormones into transplantation precision medicine 

Main affiliation: University of British Columbia

Alice Virani and Jordan Hermiston 

Title: The Experiences of Deceased Organ Donor Families and Transplant Recipients of Organ Donation Organization-Supported Direct Contact 

Main affiliation: University of British Columbia 

Michael Bleszynski and Nicola Colucci  

Title: Eliminating Static Cold Ischemia in Pancreas Preservation: A Pilot Study of Continuous Hypothermic Perfusion from Donor Procurement to Islet Isolation 

Main affiliation: University of British Columbia 

Paraish Misra 

Title: Personalized immunomodulation after kidney transplant using donor-derived thymic epithelial cells 

Main Affiliation: McGill University

Karen Sherwood and Tom Blydt-Hansen 

Title: Precision Immune Genomics in Pediatric Kidney Transplantation: A Novel Application of Nanopore Adaptive Sampling for integrated genomic Risk Stratification 

Main affiliation: University of British Columbia 

Kyla Naylor 

Title: Optimizing Patient-Centred Post-Transplant Kidney Care: Evaluating Access, Travel Burden, and Forecasting Future Follow-up Care Needs  

Main affiliation: London Health Sciences Centre Research 

Julian Hercun 

Title: Evaluation of the gut–liver axis in post-transplant recurrence of primary sclerosing cholangitis 

Main affiliation: Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal 

Congratulations to all of the research teams! We will be featuring each of these projects in our newsletter over the next few weeks, and we look forward to hearing from the teams on upcoming CDTRP events as the projects get underway.
Planning for the 2027 CDTRP Research Innovation Grant competition is underway, and we invite you to start shaping your most compelling concepts and collaborations for the upcoming round.