Medical School celebrates exceptional achievements of students and staff

Some of the brightest and best students from the Medicine, Medical Sciences and Medical Imaging programmes were honoured with top accolades across a range of categories at an evening event at the Eden Project. They were recognised for academic achievement, commitment, and impact on their communities.

The awards also recognise inspirational staff, with students nominating teachers who have gone above and beyond to provide support and encouragement. The winners are based in both the Royal Devon & Exeter and the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trusts, as well in GP practices across Devon and Cornwall.

Professor Clive Ballard, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the University of Exeter Medical School, congratulating staff and students, said: “I’m proud to see so many of our students excelling. Their remarkable efforts and accomplishments are a promising indication that the next generation of health professionals and medical scientists will be well-equipped to tackle the evolving challenges in medicine and healthcare. Being among our prize winners takes hard work and dedication, and that’s all nurtured by outstanding teaching and support.”

Among the winners was student Bethany Crawford, who won three awards in her final year on the Medical Sciences programme.

Bethany said: “I was really shocked to find out I had won the prizes. It feels amazing to see my hard work pay off and it’s given me more confidence in my own abilities. I think I can put it down to choosing modules and assignments which I found interesting, taking advantage of opportunities presented to me, asking for help and feedback and trying to achieve a good work-life balance.”

The Duchy Health Prize, awarded for the first time this year to the highest achieving 3rd year Medicine student across all assessments in Cornwall, went to Jonathan Abeles.

Jonathan said he was “very flattered“ to win the award, which reflected strong performance across all his assessments. “The Duchy Health Charity does amazing work, and this has really motivated me. It’s a fantastic confidence boost.”

Antoinette Wilcox-McLean from Duchy Health Charity said: “So much effort goes into Medicine student training and we wanted to recognise that motivation. Jonathan is clearly exceptionally dedicated and it’s a privilege to reward that with this award.”

Among the awards was the Peter Thursby Memorial Prize, presented in memory of internationally renowned sculptor Peter Thursby, who died in 2011 and was cared for in Lucerne House in Exeter following his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. The prize is awarded to students who have submitted the strongest applications that are derived from dementia-related work they have carried out as part of their degree.

The Rothband Prize for Innovation was awarded to Medical Imaging students Fakhri Haziq Abd Hakip, Siti Nushahira Aboo Samah, Haziyah Hassan and Rabiatul Pg Zulkifli.

Alex Ringer, Territory Sales Manager for Rothband, said: “Being innovators ourselves, Rothband understand the importance of excellence in innovation within Medical Imaging research. The high quality of teaching at Exeter means students are particularly engaged and I’m sure they’ll excel in their future careers.”

The full list of winners are:

Students:

BSc Medical Sciences Prizes:

Year 1 – Mary Shifona Kumarasingam

Year 2 – Stuart Walding

PTY – Rhoda Frost

Final Year – Bethany Crawford

Special Commendation for Reflective Practice and Professionalism:

Year 1 – Sophie Spicer

Year 2 – Bradley Hoskin

PTY – Laura Hollands, Rhoda Frost

Final Year – Bethany Crawford

Special Commendation for Scientific Research and Communication:

Year 1 – Mary Shifona Kumarasingam

Year 2 – Melissa Sampson

Final Year – Bethany Crawford

BSc Medical Imaging Prizes:

Year 1 – Katie Kinnon, Thomas Eustice, Bethany Warren

Year 2 – Elizabeth Washak, Eleanor Lucas, Zoe Packham Smith

Final Year – Zamir Athar, Rosie Attwell, Robert Zingler

Medical Imaging Society of Radiographers:

Robert Zingler, Amir Athar, Niki Papapchristoforou

Medical Imaging Clinical Performance:

Year 1 – Bethany Warren

Year 2 – Anna Kingwell

Final Year – Annabelle Stenhouse

Medical Imaging Clinical Professionalism:

Year 1 – Gemma Young Santos

Year 2 – Anna Kingwell

Final Year – Lee White

Medical Imaging Outstanding Patient Care:

Year 1 – Katie Kinnon

Year 2 – Paul Miles

Final Year – Julian Lowey

Medical Imaging Exceptional Dean’s Commendation:

Henrietta Dalton

Rothband Prize for Innovation:

Fakhri Haziq Abd Hakip, Siti Nushahira Aboo Samah, Haziyah Hassan, Rabiatul Pg Zulkifli

BMBS AMK Best Overall Performance:

Year 1 – Samantha Lennox

Year 2 – Jacob Bruten

Year 3 – Samuel Gallagher

Year 4 – Amaan Hussain

BMBS OCSE Best Overall Score:

Year 2 – Claudia Burton

Year 3 – Louisa Cunliffe

Year 4 – Yashna Nadkarni

BMBS Special Unit Best Overall Score:

Year 1 – Emily Lloyd

Year 2 – Matthew Saint

Year 3 – Billie Mallard

Year 4 – Ciara Greer, Amy Hough, Olivia Ware, Evana Fleeming

Duchy Health Prize:

Jonathan Abeles

Dr Grant Neumegen Prize:

Visha Rach

Paul Lock Clinical Academic Prize in Paediatrics:

Lydia Newman, Dominic Woolridge

Peter Thursby Memorial Prize:

Cariosa Devlin, Annabel Callan

Elective Photo Prize:

Winner – Soltan Hussein

Runner Up – Olivia Sharples

Staff:

Excellence and Innovation in Clinical Teaching Team Award for Hospital Teams, Palliative Care:

Truro, RCHT – Dr Deborah Stevens, Dr Carolyn Campbell, Dr Jane Gibbins, Dr Kirsty Scott, Angela Hart, Andy Shury

Excellence and Innovation in Clinical Teaching Team Award for Hospital Teams, Multiple Co-Morbidities:

Exeter – Dr Ray Sheridan, Dr Chris Baker

Excellence and Innovation in Clinical Teaching Team Award for GP Practices:

Truro, Trescobeas Surgery– Dr David Miller, Yorick O’Nyons

Excellence and Innovation in Clinical Teaching Team Award for GP Practices:

Exeter, Barton Surgery – Dr Elizabeth Alborough, Chris Walsh, Richard Sharman, Roger Walsh

Citizenship Awards:

Extra-Curricular – Ailise Smith

Community – Cameron Boyle, Serun Dupont

Charitable – Sara Khalid

Staff Aureus Awards:

Medical Imaging Supporting Hand – Dr Rachel Palfrey

Medical Sciences Supporting Hand – Dr Samuel Pollard

Most Inspirational Teacher – Dr Fred Roberts (Preclinical), Kandy Collings (Clinical)

The Shoulder Donor – Dr Susanna Hodgkinson (Preclinical), Dr Ian Fussell (Clinical)

The Proclaimers Award – Dr Julie Thacker

Inspirer – Dr Jug Ehmann

Dean’s Fund Awards:

Ramiz Ahmed Man, Waheed-Ul-Rahman Ahmed, Anna Broadbent, Annabel Callan, Sarah Camp, William Caufield, Bogdan Chiva Giurca, Rea-Danielle Christopher-Grant, Megan Davis, Praveena Deekonda, Seren Dupont, Karen Ellis, Amy Fisher, Rhoda Frost, Samuel Gallagher, Andrew Gaukroger, Oliver Glaisyer, Ciara Greer, Hannah Hassani, Brittany Heuerman-Williamson, Amy Hough, James Hughes, Sara Khalid, Susannah Kingsbury, Jonathan Outlaw, Louise Le Blevec, Kelsey Lennox, Lily McDougall, Kate Mansfield, Rebekah Morris, Navin Nagesh Mukundu, Benjamin Pearson, Dominic Proctor, Muntasha Quddus, Kate Quirke, Ross Moore, Ailise Smith, Luke Tanner, Kerry Thorne, Tom Tozer, Clare Treharne, Daniel Vowles, Edward Wigmore, Charlotte Williams.