Fewer Canadians win major awards in health research

An badysis of the major awards in health research, including the Gairdner Canada International Award, revealed that few Canadian scientists have won these prestigious awards. The article is published in CMAJ (Journal of the Canadian Medical Association).

The prestigious Gairdner Award, often referred to as the "pre-Nobel", has seen its number of Canadian researchers decrease over time since its inception in 1959, from 35 graduates in the first three decades to 12 over the past 30 years. For the other major awards, only 11% went to Canadian scientists.

Authors David Naylor, University of Toronto, and Robert Redelmeier, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, suggest that the decline is due not to chance, but to a "competitive advantage" in the early years of the Gairdner and selection process in the following decades. Financing methods could also be a factor, as government funding is inconsistent.

More information:
Robert J. Redelmeier et al. Canadian and International Laureates of Important Health Research Awards, 1959-2018, Journal of the Canadian Medical Association (2018). DOI: 10.1503 / cmaj.181056

Provided by the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association

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