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Public symposium on October 19, 1999

Some of the best and brightest scientific minds in the Western world will offer a glimpse of the latest discoveries in their fields next Tuesday, Oct. 19 as ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ participates in a public celebration of the 40th anniversary of the International Gairdner Awards. Organized by two distinguished ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ scientists, Dr Albert Aguayo (Gairdner Award, 1988) and Dr Barry Posner, the afternoon features world-renowned medical researchers and Gairdner laureates Jean-Pierre Changeux (1978), Sydney Brenner (1978 and 1991), Walter Gilbert (1979), and Luc Montagnier (1987) in a sequence of highly topical sessions of 45 minutes each.

Beginning at 1:45 pm in the Palmer-Howard Amphitheatre (McIntyre Medical Sciences Bldg, 3655 Drummond,.6th floor) with a welcome by the deans of medicine of both ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ and Université de Montreal, the event ends with closing remarks from the rector of Concordia University, Dr Frederick Lowy, a ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ medical graduate. The two halves of the afternoon program will be chaired by senior ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ researchers who have also won the Gairdner Award: Dr Jacques Genest, Dr Samuel O. Freedman, Dr Phil Gold, and Dr Kresimir Krnjevic.

Says organiser and prominent ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ neuroscientist Albert Aguayo, "This is special, this is a serious effort by biomedical scientists on the frontiers of knowledge to communicate important breakthroughs to the public and, at the same time, we have an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary Canadian institution, the Gairdner Foundation, which has awarded 251 prizes to international scientists for outstanding discoveries and contributions to medical science -- 51 of whom went on to win the Nobel prize!"

The topics to be addressed during the afternoon are:

• Models of the Brain: From Molecular Biology to Cognition (Jean Pierre Changeux)
• Computing Organisms From Their Genome (Sydney Brenner)
• Exons, the RNA World and the Evolution of Genes (Walter Gilbert)
• AIDS 2000: Prospects for New Treatments and Vaccines (Luc Montagnier)

These lectures form part of an international symposium celebrating the Gairdner Awards which is taking place in 11 Canadian centres across the country this month. Interested members of the public are welcome to attend.