Dr. Ralph Steinman from Montreal, who died Friday, had won the 2003 Canada Gairdner Award for the discovery of a previously unknown class of immune cells, called dendritic cells, which are important and unique accessories in the onset of several immune responses including graft rejection, resistance to tumors, autoimmune diseases and infections such as AIDS.

Earlier this year, Dr. Jules Hoffman of Strasbourg, France, was named a 2011 Gairdner Award recipient for his ground-breaking discovery and definition of the family of Toll-like receptors, and the array of microbial compounds that they recognize, to provide innate resistance to infection.

"Both scientists have dedicated their work to improving human life," said Dr. John Dirks, President and Scientific Director of the Gairdner Foundation. "It is a bittersweet day for Dr. Steinman's family and friends, but to both of these individuals, we express our thanks. Their work has brought us closer to understanding how the human immune system works, and as a result, closer to understanding how we can use science to resist an array of infections in the human body."

Dr. Steinman, a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, treasured his Canadian roots and was committed to his family on both sides of the border. He was a person of humour and generosity, who made valued contributions to the Gairdner Foundation as a part of the selection committee over the past three years.

Dr. Hoffman will be visiting Canada this month as part of the Gairdner Lecture Series, an annual event in which the Gairdner Foundation brings the world's top medical minds to Canada to share their work and inspire the next generation of scientists. To attend Dr. Hoffman's lectures throughout Quebec and Ontario October 21^st-28^th, or arrange an in-person interview, please reach out to the contact below.

 The Canada Gairdner Awards have a long history of identifying significant medical discoveries before the Nobels. Since the inception of the Gairdner Foundation in 1959, 78 award winners have gone on to win a Nobel Prize.