science

Gairdner Foundation

Gairdner Foundation is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gairdner Foundation rather than just read about it. In short: The Gairdner Foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and celebrating international excellence in biomedical research and global health. From its establishment in 1957, 102 Gairdner Foundation Award winners have also won Nobel Prizes in science or medicine.

Key takeaways

Gairdner Foundation belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gairdner Foundation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gairdner Foundation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Gairdner Foundation is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and celebrating international excellence in biomedical research and global health. From its establishment in 1957, 102 Gairdner Foundation Award winners have also won Nobel Prizes in science or medicine.

History The Gairdner Foundation was created in 1957 by philanthropist James Arthur Gairdner (1893–1971). He created the awards originally to recognize researchers in the field of arthritic, rheumatic, and cardio vascular diseases, but soon expanded the criteria to include "individuals who have made contributions in the conquest of disease and the relief of human suffering." Out of the 256 winners between 1957 and 2000, 54 went on to win Nobel Prizes in science or medicine. By 2024, this number had increased to 102. The Gairdner Foundation's 15-member Board of Directors comprises individuals with expertise from the academic, private, and public sectors.

Awards The Gairdner Foundation annually awards three types of Canada Gairdner Awards to scientists at various stages of their careers. The Canada Gairdner Awards are supported by funding through the governments of Canada, Alberta, Quebec and Ontario. In February 2008, the Government of Canada announced a $20 million allocation to the Gairdner Foundation to increase the prizes to $100,000 each, and institute a new individual prize in global health. Commencing in 2009, the Awards have been renamed the Canada Gairdner International Awards. In March 2025, the Government of Canada committed $10 million for the Canada Gairdner Awards to increase the value of the Canada Gairdner International Award from $100,000 to $250,000. Five Canada Gairdner International Awards are awarded annually to "outstanding researchers whose unique scientific contributions have increased the understanding of human biology and disease." One John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award is awarded annually to "researchers who have used rational, scientifically based research to improve the wellbeing of those facing health inequalities worldwide." Two Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Awards are awarded annually to mid-career investigators working in Canada who have "produced exceptional scientific research contributions with continued potential for impact on human health." The most recent Canada Gairdner awardees, along with awardees from years past, visit universities across Canada to provide academic lectures on their various areas of expertise.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gairdner Foundation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gairdner Foundation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gairdner Foundation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gairdner Foundation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gairdner Foundation

In research: Gairdner Foundation appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gairdner Foundation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gairdner Foundation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biomedical research foundations, Medical and health organizations based in Ontario, Non-profit organizations based in Ontario, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gairdner Foundation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gairdner Foundation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gairdner Foundation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gairdner Foundation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gairdner Foundation in simple terms?

Why does Gairdner Foundation matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gairdner Foundation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gairdner Foundation.