The Gairdner Awards, handed out every year in Toronto, have become one of the top medical awards in the world since their inception in 1957.

Founded by Toronto businessman James Gairdner, the international awards recognize from three to six scientists each year for their outstanding research in medical science. Gairdner, who had a long-time interest in clinical medicine, created the foundation to recognize scientists' work with a tangible award.

This year's recipients will each receive their $30,000 prize at a gala awards dinner tonight at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Winners are selected from hundreds of applicants, nominated by their peers, by the Gairdner Foundation's medical advisory board, which is made up of scientists from Canada, the United States and Britain.

The Gairdners are often cited as predictors of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Sixty-seven winners have gone on to win the illustrious prize, including the 2006 Nobel laureates, American geneticists Craig Mello and Andrew Fire, who both won Gairdners in 2005 for their work in gene silencing.

Ronald Evans, professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., and one of this year's six winners, says winning a Gairdner is a tremendous honour.

"It's probably the highest recognition in Canada. That alone is a major distinction."