Alberta is using its considerable financial resources to lure the best scientific minds the world has to offer.
They'll be offered $20 million each to conduct research in the province.
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research is spearheading the project, the richest award of its kind in Canada.
Foundation head Kevin Keough says Alberta is looking for the very best of international-calibre researchers.
In a bid to attract up to three scientists when the first set of awards is handed out next year, the foundation will kick in $10 million over 10 years, an amount will be matched by the province's three major post-secondary institutions.
Broad areas of research that will be considered include maternal, fetal and child health, mental health, injury and disease prevention, infectious diseases and food.
"The kind of people we are targeting are very expensive," said Harvey Weingarten, president of the University of Calgary.
Flush with energy revenue in 2005, the Alberta government pumped $500 million into its Heritage Foundation, which over 27 years has given about $850 million to 600 researchers.