Greetings From the Gairdner Foundation
The late James A. Gairdner and his family established the Gairdner
Foundation in 1957. Since then 279 awards for basic biomedical and clinical
research have been given to ‘those who have made major contributions
through research to the conquest of disease and the relief of human
suffering’. The Foundation has had a remarkable record of encouraging
excellence as 65 awardees have gone on the to win a Nobel Prize in either
medicine or chemistry.
On behalf of the Gairdner Foundation, we invite you to submit a nomination
for the 2007 Gairdner International Awards. Nominees should be individuals
whose seminal discoveries and major scientific contributions constitute an
original and significant achievement in biomedical sciences. Nominations in
the field of translational research are welcome.
The Award will be presented at the Gairdner Foundation International
Awards Dinner on October 25, 2007.
Yours sincerely
THE GAIRDNER FOUNDATION
John H. Dirks, President
THE GAIRDNER FOUNDATION 2007
Nomination Requirements
The Gairdner Foundation is seeking nominations for The International Award
Purpose and Description of the Gairdner Foundation International Awards
The Foundation’s aim is to honour and reward outstanding biomedical scientists who
have made original contributions to medicine with the ultimate goal of contributing
through research to the conquest for disease and relief of human suffering. The
Foundation invites the scientific community to nominate qualified scientists from every
branch of biomedicine.
The evaluation of the contributions of the nominees depends heavily on the quality of
information supplied. Therefore, nominations should be accurate, detailed, current,
complete and with supporting letters reflecting the nominee’s accomplishments.
The International Award
Gairdner Foundation Awards are given annually in the amount of $30,000 (each) payable
in Canadian funds and are given to residents of any country without restriction. A joint
award may be given for the same discovery or contribution to medical science, but each
awardee receives a full prize. In addition an award citation depicting the recipients work
and a sculpture, Le Coeur will be presented at an Awards Dinner in 2007. The Awards
are for the personal use of the recipient.
All necessary travel and accommodation expenses for winners and their partners to
accept Awards are paid by the Foundation.
The Process
Nominations are reviewed on two levels. A Medical Review Panel from across Canada is
comprised of 30 eminent scientists in various fields who review and prepare a short list of
potential recipients from received nominations. This Panel is currently co-chaired by
Dr. John Kelton, M.D., Dean and Vice-President, Faculty of Health Sciences at
McMaster University and Dr. Peter Lewis, Ph.D., Vice Dean, Research, Faculty of
Medicine, University of Toronto.
A Medical Advisory Board (MAB) comprised of 20 eminent international scientists’
select the winners for recommendation to the Gairdner Foundation Board of Directors.
John. H. Dirks, M.D. is a Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Senior Fellow of Massey
College at the University of Toronto and President of the Gairdner Foundation, Chairs the
MAB Board
2
Nomination Requirements
a) Provide a short introduction and summary in 150 words or less of the Nominee’s
contribution to biomedical and clinical research.
b) Present a brief biography including academic, administrative and research
positions, awards or recognition’s and identify top five publications.
c) Outline in an analytical manner, how and why the work of the nominee(s) has
advanced basic, clinical and/or population health sciences and clearly delineating
how it sets apart the work of others in the field.
d) Define whether an individual or shared award would be pertinent to the
nomination and if so, who the shared nominee(s) would be.
e) Provide a nominee’s full current curriculum vitae and bibliography and a contact
sheet listing full position title, letters, business address, telephone number, fax,
E-mail address and support person contact.
f) Arrange for at least (2) letters of support from colleagues familiar with the
nominee’s work. These are particularly valuable when analytically evaluated as
regards a discovery or major contribution to biomedical science.
Please submit in hard copy as well as in electronic format
(MS Word or PDF)
John H. Dirks, MD
President
The Gairdner Foundation
44 Charles Street West,
Suite 4706
Toronto, ON CA
M4Y 1R8
Phone: 416-596-9996
Fax: 416-596-9992
E-Mail: nominations@gairdner.org
Web Site: www.gairdner.org
Nominations for 2007 should be postmarked no later than October 1,
2006. (Please note that this is a strict deadline date). Nominations
received after that date will be considered the following year.
3
EMBARGOED UNTIL MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2006
Five of the world’s top scientists win 2006 Gairdner
Awards for achievements in medical research.
 Hormones, RNAs and cell mobility the subjects of
breakthrough research by 2006 Gairdner Awardees.
 Presentation by 2006 Gairdner winner Joan Steitz in
Toronto on Wednesday, April 5th.
 Nominations also announced for Gairdner Wightman
Award
[TORONTO – April 3, 2006] – Dr. John Dirks, President of the Gairdner Foundation,
today announced the 2006 winners of the Gairdner International Awards, which are one
of the most prestigious awards in all of science. Of the 279 Gairdner winners, 65 have
gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
The “Gairdners”, founded by the late Toronto businessman, James Gairdner are now in
their 47th year,
Established in 1957 by Toronto businessman, James Gairdner, the Gairdner Foundation
[www.gairdner.org] first recognized achievement in medical science in 1959. Since then,
the Gairdners have grown to be one of the most prestigious international awards in
medical research, recognizing outstanding contributions by medical scientists worldwide
whose work will significantly improve the quality of life.
4
Said Dr. Dirks: “The 2006 awards honour outstanding achievements in our understanding
of our cells with major ramifications for cancer, nutrition, auto-immune disease,
atherosclerosis and hormone action.
5
On Wednesday, April 5th, at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto, one of the five new
Gairdner Awardees, Dr. Joan Steitz, will speak at a luncheon on the applications of her
pioneering work in the area of RNA to genetically-determined diseases such as lupus and
other auto-immune diseases.
Each Gairdner awardee receives their award, which carries a cash value of $CDN 30,000,
at a gala dinner held on October 26th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. The awardees
are chosen in a two-stage process, via members of two medical advisory committees
made up of leading medical scientists from Canada and internationally. [See list below].
This year, the Gairdner Foundation will also be offering The Wightman Award, also with
a $30,000 cash prize, which is given periodically by the Gairdner Foundation to a
Canadian for outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science in Canada, and for
original and sustained contributions to the field at an internationally recognized level.
The deadline for nominations for the Wightman Award is Monday, May 15th, 2006. For
more information on nomination rules and procedures, log on to: www.gairdner.org. The
last Wightman Award recipient was Dr. Henry G. Friesen in 2001.
Since 2003, the lead national sponsor of the Gairdner awards has been the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the major federal agency responsible for
funding health research in Canada, supporting the work of 10,000 researchers in
universities, teaching hospitals and research institutes across Canada. . It aims to excel in
the creation of new health knowledge, and to translate that knowledge from the research
setting into real world applications. The results are improved health for Canadians, more
effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system.
For interviews with Dr. John Dirks, President of the Gairdner Foundation, or with
Dr. Joan Steitz during her Toronto visit, please contact: Bob Ramsay, 4l6-598-3970,
or bob@ramsaywrites.com
-30-
6
The 2006 Gairdner Awardees are:
Ralph Brinster, B.S., V.M.D., Ph.D.
Richard King Mellon Professor of Reproductive Physiology
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
“For his pioneering discoveries in germ line modification in mammals.”
Ronald M. Evans, Ph.D.,
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
March of Dimes Chair in Molecular & Developmental Biology
La Jolla, California
“For his discovery and characterization of nuclear hormone receptors and their
fundamental links with physiology, nutrition and disease, including diabetes,
atherosclerosis and cancer.”
Alan Hall, Ph.D., FRS
Chair, Cell Biology Program
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York
and
Thomas D. Pollard, M.D.
Professor of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology
Yale University
New Haven, CT
“For their discoveries related to understanding the cytoskeleton of the cell and the basis
of cell mobility and its relevance to human disease.”
Joan A. Steitz, Ph.D.
Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine
Yale University
New Haven, CT
“For her discovery of the reacticivity of auto-immune sera with nuclear riboprotein
particles and elucidation of the rules of small nuclear RNAs in gene procession.”
7
8