Frontiers for Young Minds and the Gairdner Foundation celebrate health research 

The authors of the scientific articles for kids are recipients of the 2023 Canada Gairdner Awards. 

Photo credit: Frontiers

Frontiers for Young Minds (FYM), the award-winning, open-access scientific journal for kids, published a new collection of articles on groundbreaking human health research in collaboration with the Gairdner Foundation, a Canadian organization dedicated to recognizing and rewarding major research contributions to future health worldwide. 

Established in 1957, the Gairdner Foundation recognizes international scientists for their excellence in fundamental biomedical research that will improve human health. This is done through the Canada Gairdner Awards, a series of eight awards given each year. Since the foundation’s beginning, there have been 418 Gairdner Award recipients from over 40 countries, 98 of whom have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. 

The partnership between Frontiers for Young Minds and the Gairdner Foundation is centered around their common goals of openly sharing information and inspiring the next generation of researchers. Through the articles, young readers are able to learn more about the world around them, while the young reviewers also learn about the scientific process. This supports young people in developing confidence and important skills such as critical thinking. 

The newly launched collection includes five articles from 2023 Canada Gairdner Award-winning scientists. Together, they worked with a dedicated Frontiers for Young Minds science writer and a group of young reviewers to ensure the articles were interesting and understandable for other young readers. The articles cover the latest research on pregnancy complications, bacterial cellular-level communication, mental health and substance use, blood tests to diagnose brain tumors, and AI’s acceleration of scientific discoveries: 

Additionally, the publication of the collection leads up to the Gairdner Science Week, an annual celebration of scientific excellence, taking place 23-27 October 2023. Canada Gairdner Award laureates and top researchers from around the world will convene in Toronto, Canada for a week of panels, symposia, and networking. The event is designed to celebrate scientific research that impacts global health and wellbeing and to provide another platform to share important knowledge. 

Commenting on the new collection, Frontiers for Young Minds’ head of program Laura Henderson said: “We are very proud to see this inaugural collection with the Gairdner Foundation going live as we love collaborating with like-minded, global organizations to share the best science more widely and openly and promote discoveries which are helping us live healthier and longer lives.” 

Janet Rossant, Gairdner president and scientific director, added: “We are excited to partner with Frontiers for Young Minds on the collection as it aligns strongly with our mission to inspire the next generation of scientific innovators and foster an informed society. Connecting the 2023 Canada Gairdner Award laureates with children to make their science accessible and open to the public has been an incredible experience.” 

About Frontiers for Young Minds 

Frontiers for Young Minds (FYM) is an award-winning, non-profit, open-access, scientific journal for kids that publishes articles written by leading researchers and peer reviewed by children aged 8-15. The journal features over 1,250 articles with over 35 million views and downloads, produced by 3,800 authors, mentored by 800+ scientists and reviewed by 7,400+ youngsters from 65 countries worldwide. FYM publishes in eight subject areas (Astronomy and Physics, Biodiversity, Chemistry and Materials, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Human Health, Mathematics and Economics, Neuroscience and Psychology) with articles available in English, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, and French. 

About the Gairdner Foundation 

The mission of the Gairdner Foundation is to celebrate, inform and inspire scientific excellence around the globe.  

The Gairdner Foundation, established in 1957, is dedicated to fulfilling James A. Gairdner’s vision to recognize major research contributions to the treatment of disease and alleviation of human suffering. Through annual prestigious Canada Gairdner Awards, the Gairdner Foundation celebrates the world’s most creative and accomplished researchers whose work is improving the health and wellbeing of people around the world. Since its inception, 410 awards have been bestowed on laureates from over 40 countries, and of those awardees, 98 have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes. 

The Gairdner Foundation believes in coming together to openly discuss science to better engage the public, understand the problems we face, and work together to find solutions. Since its founding, a number of outreach events and programs have been developed with the goal of inspiring the next generation of scientific innovators and fostering an informed society. gairdner.org 

About Frontiers 

Frontiers is the 3rd most-cited and 6th largest research publisher. We publish groundbreaking discoveries by the world’s top experts. Scientists empower society and our mission is to accelerate scientific discovery by making science open. We place the researcher at the center of everything we do and enable the research community to develop the solutions we need to live healthy lives on a healthy planet. Featuring custom-built technology, artificial intelligence, and rigorous quality standards, our research articles have been viewed more than 2.1 billion times, reflecting the power of research that is open for all.