Rolling out the red carpet for research
With the buff and the gorgeous having beaten a path to the tarmac (farewell, golden TIFFsters), there’s major brain power amping up as the red carpet of science rolls out for a high-powered celebration of international research.
They’re known as the “baby Nobels” – and with 50 years of history behind them, the acclaimed Canada Gairdner Awards are splashing out for a superb anniversary feast of ideas and insights from the world of medical research.
No fewer than 22 Nobel laureates among 60 Gairdner winners will descend on Toronto Oct. 28-30 (restaurateurs take note: good food and drink fuel science talks, not just movie deals) for a wide-ranging series of workshops and forums exploring the insights and promise of leading-edge science.
Among the highlights is an industry breakfast here at MaRS on Thursday, Oct. 29 – titled “Unclogging the Pipeline: Rejuvenating Drug Discovery” – moderated by pioneering London, ON, transplant surgeon and biotech entrepreneur Cal Stiller with panelists: David Baltimore, President Emeritus, Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA; Philip Sharp, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cambridge, MA; and Corey Goodman, Past President, Biotherapeutics and Bioinnovation Center, Pfizer Inc., San Francisco, CA
Your best chance to take in the big global picture comes on Friday Oct. 30 with a day-long Nobel Laureate Forum at Convocation Hall, University of Toronto. On the schedule are Laureate-laden panels discussing infection and immunity, food and metabolic insights, biological findings in cancer, and the advent of the personalized genome.
Did I mention it’s FREE? This is a case where you will undoubtedly get a lot more than you paid for.
To register for the industry breakfast at MaRS, email: thegairdner@gairdner.org, and include the first and last name of the guests attending.
For the Friday symposium, visit http://events.cmetoronto.ca/website/index/INT093
Linda Quattrin was a newspaper reporter and editor before applying her interest in science as communications director at Robarts Research Institute. A member of the Canadian Science Writers Association, she is responsible for media relations and corporate communications at MaRS.
