Results of the 2026 Joint Research Call for Proposals Université Paris Cité – University of Toronto

As part of the strategic partnership between Université Paris Cité (UPCité) and the University of Toronto (U of T), supported by the Initiative of Excellence (IdEx), a third joint research call for proposals was launched in 2026.

Université Paris Cité – University of Toronto Research Call

This partnership aims to develop joint activities around areas of shared interest for both institutions, fostering scientific collaborations and strengthening long-term research links between France and Canada.

The joint research calls for proposals are a key component of this cooperation, providing seed funding to support collaborative research initiatives and encourage the development of new scientific partnerships. Following two previous calls launched in 2024 and 2025, which supported ten collaborative projects (five projects per call), this third edition resulted in the selection of five new projects. The selected projects were chosen following a joint evaluation process conducted by both institutions.

The 2026 call for proposals was open to the humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and applied sciences, as well as projects in the fields of paediatrics or pharmacy/pharmacology within the health sector. It was open to all academic staff members from both institutions, with the participation of early-career researchers particularly encouraged.

The call attracted strong interest from research teams at UPCité and U of T.

2026 Selected Projects

A total of 14 joint applications were submitted, including 6 projects from the Faculty of Health, 3 projects from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, 3 projects from the Faculty of Sciences, and 2 projects from the Institut de physique du globe de Paris (IPGP). The joint evaluation committee selected five projects.

The total funding allocated to this call amounts to €50,000 from UPCité and CAD 75,000 from U of T. Funding is provided for a maximum period of 18 months, covering the period from September 2026 to February 2028.

The 2026 Selected Projects are :

“Forming the Basis of Itinerant Anyonic Phases: Keys to Anyon Pairing and Topological Quantum Control”, Christophe Mora and Valentin Crepel
(Sciences)

“Division of Labour in Speech Foundation Models: Encoder Representations and Decoder Predictions”, Guillaume Wisniewski and Dunbar Ewan (Humanities and Social Sciences)

“Effect of Folate Deficiency on Microglia Homeostasis” Salvatore Cisternino and Reina Bendayan (Health)

“Viral Infection and Pharmacological Optimization in Transplantation – VIRAPRO” Jerome Le Goff and Victor Ferreira (Health)

“Integrating Bio- and Hydrometallurgical Pathways for Sustainable Urban Mining of Critical Materials” Eric Van Hullebusch and Gisele Azimi (IPGP)