The Globe and Mail: Alberta will pay millions to pick the world’s brains
At a time when Canadian research budgets are being slashed, Alberta is using its financial clout to scour the globe for scientific “superstars” who will be offered $20-million each to conduct research in the province for the next decade.
“We’re looking for the very best of international-calibre investigators,” said Kevin Keough, head of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, which is spearheading the richest award of its kind in Canada, to be announced today. “I think we happen to be in a good position at this point to be able to recruit some stars to Canada.
“These are people you don’t come by everyday,” he said.
In a bid to attract up to three researchers when the first set of awards is handed out next year, the foundation will kick in $10-million at a rate of $1-million a year while the province’s three major postsecondary institutions — University of Alberta, University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge — will match that contribution if successful in wooing a bright light.
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