This year The Gairdner Foundation is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary in spectacular fashion.

Between March and November we will hold 7 major international symposia across the country, in Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto (York), Sherbrooke, Montreal and Halifax (see under Events). The finale will occur in Toronto, where we will host 50 past Gairdner recipients, including 22 Nobel Laureates, from Oct 28-30.  This will be by far the largest gathering of the world's top scientists ever held in Canada. We will also introduce the 2009 Canada Gairdner Award recipients.

Canada Gairdner Laureates will participate in lectures, panel discussions, public forums, interviews and informal talks with academics, researchers, biotech and pharma companies, government leaders, graduate and postgraduate students, high school students, the media and interested members of the general public. With the exception of the social events, all the programs will be free and open to anyone who wants to share in the excitement of leading edge biomedical science.

The 50^th Anniversary will be a spectacular culmination of everything The Gairdner Foundation has achieved in becoming Canada's premier international prize, and one of the top three biomedical prizes in the world.  It will be a vehicle to raise awareness of the fascinating world of biomedical science and its importance to lives.