December 29, 2025 – Winnipeg, Manitoba
Research Manitoba announces the recipients of the November 2025 Research Connections grant competition. This investment supports the professional growth of researchers and innovators across Manitoba, supporting opportunities to share knowledge, exhibit research findings, and form new partnerships.
The Research Connections program supports conferences, workshops, seminars, and other research-focused gatherings that create opportunities for skill development, interdisciplinary collaboration, public engagement, and connections with industry partners. For this intake, Research Manitoba invested $103,391 to support 18 events.
From cutting-edge health research to Indigenous food systems, global collaboration, human rights, sustainability, and creative expression, these events celebrate discovery while opening doors for students, researchers, and community partners alike. Together, they help position Manitoba as a place where research thrives, connections grow, and knowledge is turned into action.
We have invested in events that are truly unique to Manitoba. These events showcase our local research community’s commitment to supporting Manitoba’s diverse cultures through every area of research, from humanities to healthcare. Our researchers know that no project can succeed without collaboration, connection, and finding the joy in supporting each other’s work. These organizers share a passion in forming connections, an essential, but often overlooked, component in creating Manitoba-led innovations.
Below, find more information on the events funded through this intake:
| Event | Event Organizer | Organization | Event Dates |
| Dentistry Research Day 2026 | Ayesha Saleem | University of Manitoba | January 29, 2026 |
| “Where are We?”: Filipino Canadian Theatre in Manitoba (Migration, Climate Change, Decolonization) | Dennis D. Gupa | University of Winnipeg | March 7, 2026 |
| Knowledge exchange on research to support services for older adults | Michelle Porter | University of Manitoba | March 25, 2026 |
| Small Peace, Petit Love: Everyday Acts in Peaceable Communities | Jessica Senehi | University of Manitoba | April 17, 2026 |
| The Civil Society Forum for Human Rights in Canada (CSF) | Nathan Derejko | University of Manitoba | April 20, 2026 |
| 35th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research | Leigh McClarty | University of Manitoba | April 23, 2026 |
| 38th Annual Canadian Society of Immunology Conference | Thomas Murooka | University of Manitoba | April 26, 2026 |
| Manitoba Materials Conference 2026 | Derek Oliver | University of Manitoba | May 5, 2026 |
| The Two-Spirit, Trans, and Allied Gathering: On Prisons and Conditions of Confinement | Leon Laidlaw | Brandon University | May 7, 2026 |
| Shaping Research Together: A Conversation on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) in Manitoba | Abiola N Dosumu | CancerCare Manitoba | May 11, 2026 |
| IAGLR & SCAS Joint Conference | Matthew Klachefsky | International Institute for Sustainable Development Experimental Lakes Area | May 25, 2026 |
| Threads of Resilience: Strengthening Canada’s Capacity for Secure Global Collaboration | Deepa Sankaran | University of Manitoba | May 26, 2026 |
| Growing Home: Reimagining Indigenous Food Systems in Manitoba | Ian Calliou | University of Manitoba | May 29, 2026 |
| 2026 Manitoba Sustainable Protein Research Symposium | Filiz Koksel | University of Manitoba | June 23, 2026 |
| Crossing[Out] Borders 27th Annual Media Ecology Association Conference | Jaqueline McLeod Rogers | University of Winnipeg | June 25, 2026 |
| CSSRP Community Engagement Annual Event: Bridging Research and Community | Verónica Loureiro-Rodríguez | University of Manitoba | September 11, 2026 |
| PROMISE 2nd Research Day | Cedric Tremblay | Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba | September 23, 2026 |
| Knowledge Exchange to Support Pediatric Emergency Care in Northern Manitoba | Lisa Knisley | University of Manitoba | October 6, 2026 |
We are proud to support events where ideas can be shared that spark collaboration and turn knowledge into action. By connecting students, researchers, community partners, and leaders, these grants provide the space for partnerships to organically form, and ensure that local insights contribute to global change.
Research Manitoba is accepting applications for the next Research Connections intake, closing May 22, 2026. For program details and application information, visit researchmanitoba.ca/research-connections.
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Contact:
Hope Holmes, Communications Officer, Research Manitoba
E: info@researchmb.ca | W: researchmanitoba.ca
Research Manitoba promotes, supports, and coordinates the funding of research excellence and innovation in health, natural and social sciences, engineering, and the humanities in Manitoba. Research Manitoba supports local talent development by providing research support to early career researchers and graduate students, along with fostering partnerships to strengthen research innovation in Manitoba.