School of Medicine celebrates undergraduate community with 2023 Education Awards

Some of the winners are presented with their award at the School's ceremony

Imperial College School of Medicine’s annual awards returned this year, celebrating the dedicated staff making an impact on its education community.

The Awards, returning after a review and pandemic-induced hiatus, took place at the School’s Charing Cross campus on Thursday 01 June.

19 individual awards and one team award were presented at the event, hosted by Dr James Jensen-Martin, Director of Quality and Student Experience, where attendees also enjoyed performances from the ICSM Jazz Quintet and String Quartet student musicians.

The School's awards programme has a strong foundation of student support, being decided and presented in conjunction with Imperial College School of Medicine Students’ Union (ICSMSU), the medical school’s constituent union.

Winners received their awards from ICSMSU President 2022-23, Chris Oldfield.

The winners’ citations were also read by Medical Biosciences student, Monica Jin Yang, and medical students Yasmin Baker and Rayyan Islam.

Recognising the community

The awards event was retitled from ‘Teaching’ to ‘Education’ to broaden the scope of nominations more distinctly to the entire education community, allowing nominators to recognise staff contributing to the delivery of the Medicine and Medical Biosciences programmes and the student experience in any way, whether through teaching, professional services support, or tutoring.

Dr James Jensen-Martin, a key sponsor of the awards programme and the event’s presenter, said “We are incredibly proud of our undergraduate community and it is important to us all to be able to draw attention to them and their work, and offer some appreciation for their efforts.

“The School of Medicine could not deliver its high standards of education and student experience without the dedicated support and skill of its people, and we are pleased to have reimagined the awards this year to recognise all the key members of our community contributing to the School’s success.

“I’m delighted with this year’s deserving winners, though the decisions were tough for the panel, and I’m looking forward to seeing nominations come in for next year’s event.”

Celebrating lifelong educators

Award categories for nominations included Teaching Excellence, Teaching Fellow Excellence, Excellence in Tutoring, Supporting the Student Experience.

A further category, the Head of School Award, is awarded at the discretion of the Head of Imperial College School of Medicine, Professor Amir Sam. This year’s winner is Professor Mitch Blair, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at Imperial’s School of Public Health.

Leading the undergraduate paediatrics teaching programme at Imperial from 2005-2017, implementing many key changes and improvements over the years.

He also co-established the Follow My Footsteps programme for medical students, where they follow the journey of an expectant mother through the birth and early years of a baby’s development.

In support of Professor Blair’s award nomination, students reported him an incredibly kind, patient and supportive teacher who created a comfortable learning environment. Many commented that they felt ‘fortunate’ to have been taught by him.

Professor Sam, who presented Professor Blair with the Head of School Award, said: “This award allows us to recognise and celebrate the impact of our lifelong educators, such as Professor Blair.

His contribution to our students and their education has been vast, varied and given over many years, and we are delighted to be able to put him and his achievements in the spotlight and to show our appreciation."

Nominations for the Education Awards are open year round, and you can find the nomination form and guidance on the webpage here.

Education Awards 2023 winners list in full:

Teaching Excellence 

• Dr Aula Abbara
  Honorary Senior Lecturer, Department of Infectious Disease
• Dr Josefin Ahnström
  Senior Lecturer, Department of Immunology & Inflammation
• Dr Brent Bartholomew
  Director of Clinical Studies, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
• Professor Jim Crawley
  Professor of Haemostasis in the Department for Immunology and Inflammation
• Mr Bosko Dragovic
  Obstetrics & Gynaecology Consultant (retired), Northwick Park Hospital
• Dr Simon Erridge
  Research Postgraduate, Department of Surgery and Cancer
• Dr Paula Fagan
  O&G Specialty Registrar, Northwick Park Hospital
• Dr Mark Lethby
  Consultant Physician and Geriatrician at West Middlesex Hospital
• Miss Roshni Patel
  Consultant in Obstetrics, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital
  & Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine
• Dr Yasmin Razak
  GP, West Ten GPs – Golborne Medical Centre
• Dr Yousuf Salmasi
  Cardiothoracic Registrar, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals
  Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Surgery and Cancer

Teaching Excellence - Team Award

• St Mary's Undergraduate Team:
  Dr Lina Alim, Mrs Jo Jones, Dr Sophie Baxter, Dr Emmanouil Dimitrakakis, Dr Jasmine Quraishi

Excellence in Tutoring

• Dr Rochan Agha-Jaffar
  Consultant Endocrinologist, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
  & Academic Tutor

Teaching Fellow Excellence

• Dr Deepak Barnabas
  Strategic Teaching Fellow and Deputy Digital Development Lead, Faculty Education Office (Medicine)
• Dr Silke Kerruth
  Senior Teaching Fellow, Faculty Education Office (Medicine)
• Dr Eleanor Sein
  Obstetrics and Gynaecology Teaching Fellow, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
  Research Postgraduate,  Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction
• Dr Shannon O'Floinn
  Clinical Teaching Fellow in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Northwick Park Hospital

Supporting the Student Experience

• Dr Alex Furr
  Learning Technology Lead, Faculty Education Office (Medicine)
• Ms Sharon Hübscher
  Programme Officer (Year 1 & 2, BSc Medical Biosciences), Faculty Education Office (Medicine)

Head of School Award

• Professor Mitch Blair
  Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Public Health

Thanks to Andy Pritchard for all event photography.