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Photo:University Professor Emeritus Endel Tulving
Image: Stephanie Lake
University Professor Emeritus Endel Tulving was one of six
of the world's leading scientists honoured at a gala banquet
Oct. 27 for their outstanding contributions to biomedicine.
The researchers were the 2005 winners of the Gairdner International
Awards, one of the scientific community’s most prestigious
prizes. The awards are given out each October as part of a two-week
national program run by the Gairdner Foundation. The University
of Toronto hosts the awards and an associated two-day symposium.
The Gairdner Awards are Canada’s most international prize
in the field of biology and medicine,” said Professor
Emeritus John Dirks of medicine and president of the Gairdner
Foundation. “They have a long track record of 46 years
and have gained an excellent reputation, especially in the global
biomedical community.”
This year’s recipients reflect a diversity of research
interests, including human memory, obesity and gene splicing.
Tulving, the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience
at the Rotman Research Institute of the Baycrest Centre, was
recognized for his pioneering research in understanding human
memory and for providing the framework within which findings
in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuropharmacology can be
integrated.
“He’s one of Canada’s top scientists in the
area of memory and he’s had a tremendous influence in
Canada and around the world with his work,” said Professor
Peter Lewis, vice-dean (research) at the Faculty of Medicine
and a member of the Gairdner Foundation’s medical review
panel. “Dr. Tulving’s work has started several other
studies. It’s just had a major impact on our thinking
about memory.”
“Dr. Tulving’s win reflects the very high quality
of research, particularly in the area of neurosciences and cognition,
at the University of Toronto. It reflects very well on the psychology
department of which he is a member and also on the partnership
between the Faculty of Medicine and the Rotman Research Institute
of the Baycrest Centre, one of our nine fully affiliated teaching
hospitals,” Lewis added.
Tulving was humbled by the award, commenting, “It was
totally unexpected and very pleasant for that reason. I knew
about the Gairdner Awards before but I never thought that I
would ever get one.”
At a recent event held in his honour at the Baycrest Centre,
Tulving attributed much of his success in winning the award
to the support of the Rotman Research Institute. As a token
of his gratitude and in an effort to further the institute’s
research into the aging process, Tulving announced that he planned
on donating his $30,000 in prize money back to the centre.
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