Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
Thank you for inviting me here today.
As you know, my name is Dr. Imogen Coe and I'm a professor of chemistry and biology at Toronto Metropolitan University and an affiliate scientist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. I spent much of my career working in Canada's research ecosystem as a researcher, a reviewer, an educator, mentor and academic leader with a particular scientific research focus on cellular mechanisms of drug uptake, along with an applied academic expertise in how to create inclusive and effective research cultures in science, engineering and medicine. I've published extensively in both domains in the peer-reviewed literature.
With respect to the topic under review, we must ask, what do we mean by “research excellence” in 2025?
For too long, excellence has been defined in narrow and limited ways, missing markers of impact and relevance. Excellence today is understood more broadly, and the highest quality research emerges from systems and teams that are intentionally inclusive, ethically grounded and reflective of a wide range of perspectives, knowledge and experience. Research that draws on only a narrow set of voices or approaches is more likely to have blind spots, replicate bias and produce less impactful results. The evidence base for these comments is extensive and to ignore this body of scholarship is to compromise Canadian research. Expertise matters and we should look to evidence and data to help inform our policies.
We have painful reminders of what happens when research fails to account for difference. A well-known recent Canadian case is that of physician Dr. Kapoor who died from the toxic build-up of a cancer drug routinely prescribed for his type of cancer. He carried a genetic variant related to poor drug metabolism that had not been captured in databases because those databases are typically skewed towards white European heritage populations. Thus his variant was missed in research focused on finding clinical markers of risk. A major study in 2018 found that over 78% of genome-wide association studies were of European descent, while non-European descent represented fewer than 5%.
Excluding diversity in research, design and practice disadvantages individuals, compromises safety, wastes resources and lowers the overall quality of the outputs. Every member of this committee has family or friends or constituents, perhaps from very diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are facing or will face challenges such as cancer, dementia, mental health crises, homelessness, disability, food insecurity, underemployment or perhaps even multiples of these. Research is going to be the answer to responding to these challenges, research that addresses the challenges of all Canadians and finds innovative solutions for all Canadians.
This is our call as researchers, in service to Canada and Canadians. Research excellence, therefore, depends on creating systems and teams that are fair, inclusive and responsible. Diverse teams are more innovative, with productivity and impact 7% higher than homogeneous teams, according to research. Research that's conducted inclusively is more rigorous, more innovative and more responsive to society. In other words, more excellent.
Federal funding criteria play a critical role in shaping how we define and reward excellence. If criteria remain too narrow, we risk leaving innovation on the sidelines. If criteria are broadened to ensure maximal rigour, impact, ethics responsibility and inclusiveness, we strengthen both research and society. Other countries are already moving in this direction. The U.K. research excellence framework requires evidence of real-world impact. Global initiatives such as the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and the Leiden Manifesto stress that research quality cannot be reduced to numbers alone. Canada should align with these leading practices.
My recommendations to this committee are to support, sustain and increase investment in a Canadian research ecosystem that seeks and supports the best, while updating federal funding criteria so that excellence reflects truly what matters. Reward research that's rigorous, fair, innovative, and socially and environmentally responsive, which is built on systems where no capable talent is left on the sidelines. Support research that creates inclusive, productive and creative cultures that drive innovation and where talent thrives. Be intentional about building better and stronger systems of research.
Canada's prosperity, health and security in the decades ahead will depend on the knowledge we generate today. By ensuring that research excellence is defined in ways that are broad, modern and inclusive, this committee can help Canadian research be both globally competitive and truly excellent.
Thank you.