Greetings From the Gairdner Foundation

The late James A. Gairdner and his family established the Gairdner Foundation in 1957. Since then 300 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 73 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 2012 Canada Gairdner International Awards (deadline October 1, 2011).  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.

We also invite nominations for the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award* (deadline October 1, 2011) and the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award* (deadline October 1, 2011). The Awards will be presented at the Gairdner Foundation Annual Gala Dinner on October 25, 2012.

Yours sincerely
THE GAIRDNER FOUNDATION

John H. Dirks, M. D.
President & Scientific Director

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

2012 Canada Gairdner International Awards

We invite you to submit a nomination for the 2012 Canada Gairdner International Awards (deadline October 1, 2011).  Nominees should be individuals whose "seminal discoveries and major scientific contributions constitute an original and significant achievement in biomedical science". Nominations in the field of translational research are welcome.

Details regarding the nomination process are given below and at http://www.gairdner.org/tonominate/thegaird

The recipients will be formally announced in late March and presented at the Awards Dinner on October 25, 2012.

Canada Gairdner International Award

 The award recognizes outstanding biomedical scientists who have made original contributions to medicine with the goal of contributing through research to increased understanding of human biology and disease. The award recognizes an original, seminal contribution or discovery rather than a lifetime of work.  The Gairdner Foundation invites the scientific community to nominate qualified scientists from any 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. 

Purpose and Conditions

1.         The Prizes are valued at $100,000 CDN each.  In addition, an award citation depicting the recipient's work and a commemorative item will be presented at the annual awards dinner in October 2012.

2.         A joint award may be made for the same discovery or contributions to medical science, but each awardee receives a full prize.

3.         The prize is for the personal use of the recipient.

4.         Awards are made to residents of any country without restriction of gender, race, religion, creed or nationality.

5.         The awards must be accepted in person by the recipient.

6.         Expenses for travel and accommodation for recipients and their partners to accept the awards are paid by the Foundation.

Nominations

1.          Provide a short introduction and summary in 150 words or less of the Nominee's contribution(s) to biomedical and clinical research.

2.          Present a brief biography including academic, administrative and research positions, awards or recognitions and identify five top publications.

3.         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 indicate how it is set apart from the work of others in the field.

4.         Define whether an individual or shared award would be pertinent to the nomination and if so, who the other Nominee(s) sharing the award would be.

5.         Provide a Nominee's full current curriculum vitae and bibliography and a contact sheet listing full position, titles, letters, business address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address and support person contact.

6.         Arrange for at least two (2) letters of support from colleagues familiar with the Nominee's work describing the major contribution to biomedical science. These letters of support are particularly valuable to the evaluation process.

7.         Self -nominations are not accepted.

Selection Process

Nominations are reviewed on two levels.  A Medical Review Panel (MRP) made up of active Canadian and international researchers is comprised of 30 eminent scientists in various fields who review and prepare a short list of potential recipients from the nominations received. This Panel is currently co-chaired by Philip Marsden, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Renal Division, University of Toronto, and Richard Rachubinski, Ph.D., University Professor, Department of Cell Biology, University of Alberta.

A Medical Advisory Board (MAB) comprised of a diverse group of 30 eminent Canadian and international scientists select the Awardees for recommendation to the Gairdner Board of Directors. John H. Dirks, M.D., President &Scientific Director of The Gairdner Foundation, Chairs the MAB.

All decisions of the adjudication committees are final.

The National Program

1.         The award recipient will present a major lecture at the annual Minds that Matter symposium in Toronto held on the day of the awards dinner.

2.          All recipients are expected to participate in the Gairdner National Program, a series of research lectures and talks to high school students that take place in universities across Canada leading up to the Minds that Matter symposium and the awards dinner.

Nominations for the 2012 awards should be postmarked no later than October 1, 2011. (Please note that this is a strict deadline date.) Nominations received after this date will be considered the following year.

Please submit nomination material in electronic format (MS Word or PDF) to nominations@gairdner.org

Phone: 416-596-9996, Fax: 416-596-9992, Web Site: http:/www.gairdner.org

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Canada Gairdner Wightman Award

A special annual award of $100,000 will be given to a Canadian who, in the opinion of the Foundation, has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science consistent with the purpose of the Foundation:

1. For leadership in a specific field of biomedical sciences (basic, clinical, population health) in Canada and/or original and sustained contributions to that field at an internationally recognized level.          

2.  For institutional academic and scientific leadership in Canada leading to the establishment and development of biomedical research in Canada and internationally.

The deadline date for nominations is October 1, 2011.  Applications received for 2012 after that date will be held over and can be reconsidered with appropriate updates, for 2013.

Nomination Requirements

a) Provide a short introduction and summary in 150 words or less of the Nominee's contribution to medicine in Canada.

b) Present a brief biography including academic, administrative and research positions, awards or recognitions and identify five top publications.

c) Outline in an analytical manner, how and why the leadership of the Nominee(s) has advanced medicine in Canada and/or internationally and clearly delineate how it is set apart from the work of others.

d) Provide a Nominee's full current curriculum vitae and bibliography and a contact sheet listing full position, titles, letters, business address, telephone number, fax, e-mail address and support person contact.

e) Arrange for at least two (2) letters of support from colleagues familiar with the Nominee's work. These are particularly valuable when analytically evaluated

Please submit in electronic format (MS Word or PDF) to nominations@gairdner.org

f) Self -nominations are not accepted.

All decisions of the adjudication committees are final.

Phone: 416-596-9996

Fax: 416-596-9992

E-Mail: nominations@gairdner.org

Web Site: http://www.gairdner.org

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Canada Gairdner Global Health Award

The Canada Gairdner Global Health Award is directed at health issues pertaining to developing countries. It recognizes those who have made major scientific advances in any one of four areas; namely basic science, clinical science or population or environmental health. These advances must have, or have potential to make a significant impact on health outcomes in the developing world. Nominations for leadership and administration however outstanding, do not fall within the parameters of this award.

The long-term goal of this prize is to reward and stimulate members of the global scientific and medical community to undertake research that will lead to advances valuable to the health of nations.

The Global Health Award consists of $100,000 (CDN), a framed certificate with appropriate citation and a specially designed sculpture.

The purpose of the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award is the recognition of individual whose seminal scientific work constitutes a discovery or a highly tangible sustained achievement toward improving our knowledge of and application to global health, to generate scientific momentum in the field, and to augment public awareness.

1. The Prize is to be used by the recipient for personal use.
2. A Global Health Advisory Committee is responsible for selecting the recipient of the award.
3. The Board of Directors of the Gairdner Foundation will approve the selection of the winner.
4. Awards are made to residents of any country without restriction of gender, race, religion, creed or nationality.
5. The Prize may be presented either at the time of Canada Gairdner International Awards in October or at a special event in Ottawa in the spring.

Nomination Requirements

The Gairdner Foundation invites those in the international scientific health and medical community to nominate candidates for the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award.

1. Nomination letters should describe the key role of the nominee (s) in relevant successful scientific advances and should be accompanied by a full curriculum vitae with a complete mailing address and at least two supporting letters that detail a major discovery or sustained scientific advances.  
2. The work of the nominee should be compared with that of others in the field, together with clearly articulated reasons why this work distinguishes the nominee's work from others in the same scientific topic.
3. The nomination deadline for the award is October 1, 2011 and nominations should be addressed to the President of the Gairdner Foundation.
4. A call for nominations will be published on The Gairdner Foundation website and nominations will be held for up to 3 years, but must be updated annually.

Selection Process

1. Nominations are reviewed by the Global Health Award Advisory Committee.
2. The Advisory Committee is comprised of 10-15 experts in the field of Global Health with a clear understanding of the basic, clinical population and social science issues in global health.
3. The recipient will be selected no later than January of the year in which the award is to be made.
4. The selection will be submitted to The Gairdner Foundation Board of Directors for formal approval no later than January 31st of the award year.
5. All selections are final and not subject to review or challenge.