Gairdner International Award

John Dick and Zulfiqar Bhutta – both researchers at the 91�Թ� and its hospital partners – have been honoured with 2022 Canada Gairdner Awards, the country’s most prestigious awards for medical and health science.

A professor of molecular genetics at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a senior scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Dick was recognized with a Gairdner International Award for the discovery of leukemic stem cells and later work on the diagnosis and treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.

Bhutta, a professor in the departments of nutritional sciences and pediatrics at Temerty Medicine and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and the director of the Centre for Global Child Health and a senior scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children, was recognized with the John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award for his research on community-based and policy interventions in child and maternal health, especially among vulnerable populations.

Established in 1957, the Gairdner Foundation has given 402 awards to scientists around the world. About a quarter of those researchers later received Nobel Prizes. The foundation gives seven awards annually. Each recipient receives $100,000 and participates in public lectures, research symposia and other outreach events. The foundation is supported by the Government of Canada.

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Daniel Drucker receives Canada Gairdner International Award

lanthierj — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 13:54:32 +0000

Daniel Drucker receives Canada Gairdner International Award

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Wed, 04/07/2021 - 09:54

Faculty

St. George

Gairdner International Award

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Department off Medicine

Insulin 100

landscape

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

The 91�Թ�’s Daniel Drucker has been jointly awarded a 2021 Canada Gairdner International Award for research that has helped revolutionize treatments for type 2 diabetes, obesity and intestinal disorders.

Drucker, a professor in the department of medicine at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a senior scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health, received the honour with Joel Habener of Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, and Jens Juul Holst of the University of Copenhagen.

Working both independently and collaboratively over more than four decades, Holst, Habener and Drucker discovered the peptides known as GLP-1 and GLP-2, detailed their molecular and physiological effects in cells and animals and translated those findings in human studies that have led to several new classes of drugs.

The award comes as 91�Թ� celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a finding that paved the way for a century of ground-breaking research at the university and its partner hospitals.

“I am extremely excited and honoured that the Gairdner Foundation has recognized our collective work on the glucagon-like peptides, and its translational importance for the treatment of metabolic disorders," said Drucker. “I am also very grateful for the dozens of contributions made by so many talented trainees that I have been privileged to work with at the 91�Թ�.”

The Gairdner Foundation was established in 1957 to recognize fundamental research that impacts human health, bestowing 395 awards to scientists from 35 countries.

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