Celebrating Dr. Janet Rossant’s Decade of Leadership at the Gairdner Foundation  

As Dr. Janet Rossant concludes her tenure as President & Scientific Director of the Gairdner Foundation, the Foundation celebrates a decade of extraordinary leadership, growth, and impact.   

Over the past ten years, Dr. Rossant has guided the Foundation with vision, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to scientific excellence. Under her leadership, Gairdner strengthened its international reputation for recognizing the world's most influential biomedical and global health researchers while expanding its efforts to inspire future generations of scientists and innovators in Canada and around the world.   

Throughout her tenure, Dr. Rossant championed the role of science and evidence-based decision making in addressing global challenges. She reinforced Gairdner’s position as a trusted voice in science, ensuring that groundbreaking discoveries and the researchers behind them continued to be recognized and celebrated on the world stage.   

A defining feature of Dr. Rossant’s presidency has been her commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in science. She championed efforts to broaden and diversify the pool of nominees, awardees, and committee members, helping to remove longstanding barriers that have historically limited participation and recognition for women and underrepresented groups in science.   

Dr. Rossant has also been a powerful advocate for researchers at every stage of their careers. During her leadership, the Foundation expanded its support for Canadian scientific talent through new programs and awards designed to recognize excellence and foster future leadership. Among these initiatives, the Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Award is her proudest achievement. Established to recognize exceptional mid-career researchers on a trajectory toward international leadership, the award has broadened both the scope of research and the diversity of researchers recognized by the Foundation.   

In addition to her distinguished service as President & Scientific Director, Dr. Rossant is herself a Canada Gairdner Award laureate. She received the 2015 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award in recognition for her pioneering contributions to developmental biology and her international leadership in stem cell research, policymaking, and the advancement of research programs focused on children’s health. 

Beyond the Foundation, Dr. Rossant has played a transformative role in Canadian and international research. As Chief of Research at SickKids, she helped position the institution as a global leader in precision child health research. Her contributions to science policy, research governance, and stem cell biology have shaped the direction of biomedical research worldwide. 

Her achievements have been recognized through numerous honours, including the Killam Prize for Health Sciences and the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Societies of London and Canada, and a Foreign Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.   

As she concludes her tenure with the Gairdner Foundation, Janet Rossant leaves the organization stronger, more inclusive, and more globally engaged than ever before. Her legacy at Gairdner is one of scientific excellence, principled leadership, and a deep belief in the power of science to improve lives. The Foundation, and the global scientific community it serves, will continue to benefit from her vision for generations to come.