At the BSH, we are keen to recognise those who go above and beyond and excel in their chosen area of haematology.

We have put together an exciting prizes and awards scheme to celebrate the success of members and non-members.

It is important that everyone, from students to senior haematology professionals, can showcase and gain recognition for their work.

Sign up for our Grants and Awards Newsletter on your My BSH page to receive notifications when awards are updated or announced.


National Clinical Impact Awards

 

National Clinical Impact Awards – Role of member organisations

The Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) has announced important changes to their processes for selecting individuals for their National Clinical Impact Awards.

They no longer accept citations, and member organisations may no longer provide ranked lists of candidates. They felt that neither of these processes had significantly impacted the outcome of the final rankings and were potentially dissuading some candidates from applying.

They still feel membership organisations have a role in advising candidates on applications.

The BSH strongly recommends candidates read the guidance provided by the ACCIA and complete their applications strictly according to this. Failure to do so results in otherwise strong applications being marked down harshly.

Applications for the 2024 National Clinical Impact Awards round have now closed.

The Crucible Prize 

The BSH Crucible Prize is an innovative trainee-led initiative with a £1,000 prize, where the five top abstracts are selected for oral presentation at our Annual Scientific Meeting.

The Prize aims to encourage reflection on what haematologists do and why they do it.

Those selected are questioned and judged by a panel of senior haematologists on the quality and originality of their content, presentation skills and response to questions.

The Prize is open to doctors in training, nurses and other healthcare professionals (at any stage of their career).

Find out more about the Crucible Prize

Previous Crucible Prize Winners

2024 Theme: 'What is the greatest threat to the future of haematology?'

2024 Winner: Dr Lisa Jeffers

Read our interview with Dr Lisa Jeffers here


2023 Theme: 'What can haematology learn from history?'

2023 Winner: Dr Peter Johnstone, 'What can haematology learn from history?'

Read our interview with Dr Peter Johnstone.


2022 Theme: 'What current haematology practices would seem absurd to the haematology community in 2050?'

2022 Winner: Dr Richard Buka, '2050: A year of re-enlightenment.'

Read our interview with Dr Richard Buka.


2021 Theme: 'What lessons can haematology learn from others?'

2021 Winner: Dr Amy Cooper, 'What can haematology learn from linguistics? Back to basics.'


2020 BSH Virtual Theme: 'What lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic should change future practice in haematology?'

2020 BSH Virtual Winner: Dr Joshua Bomsztyk, 'A hospital avoidance strategy should be forefront in our minds.'

Read our interview with Dr Joshua Bomsztyk.


2019 Theme: 'How can haematology change the world?'

2019 Winner: Dr Jennifer Darlow, 'Antimicrobial resistance: Biting the hand that feeds.'

Watch the 2019 winning presentation (member login required)

Read our interview with Dr Jennifer Darlow.


2018 Theme: 'How do haematologists do most harm to patients?'

2018 Winner: Dr Sonia Wolf, 'Young, Black and Stigmatised.'

Read our interview with Dr Sonia Wolf.


Student Communication Prize

We invite undergraduate medical, biomedical and clinical science, physician associate and nursing students from UK schools to create a presentation on a subject chosen by the Education Committee.

Submissions can be posters, a PowerPoint presentation, a narrated slideshow, or other media as appropriate. 

The winner will receive a prize of £500, and the runner-up will receive £250.

For the 2025 prize, we ask you to respond to the following:

Reflecting on a clinical encounter where you encountered a patient with a haematological disorder (e.g., anaemia, leukaemia, or sickle cell disease), describe the diagnostic process, your differential diagnosis, and how your understanding of haematology influenced your approach to patient care.

How did this experience shape your perspective on the role of haematology in general medical practice?

When submitting, please note:

Submissions will be marked for content, interest and structure.

Include details of your medical school, the course and your current year of study.

Note: Any use of AI must be declared and how it benefits your submission explained. We may check entries for plagiarism.

Eligibility criteria:

  • Undergraduate medical students from UK medical schools.
  • Healthcare scientists (HCPC registered biomedical and clinical scientists) Band 6 and below, undertaking any formal training programme under the remit of the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), accredited undergraduate BSc degrees with registration portfolio and postgraduate MSc level with specialist diploma and trainees undertaking the British Blood Transfusion Society (BBTS) specialist certificate and the National School of Healthcare Science (NSHCS) Scientist Training Programme (STP).
  • Physician assistants/associates (PAs) undertaking formal training in any recognised/accredited physician associate higher education institution prior to passing the PA National Examination.

Deadline: Monday, 3 February, 2025

Send your submissions to
[email protected].


Student Essay Prize

From 2025, the Student Essay Prize has become the Student Communication Prize

Previously, we invited essays on a topic agreed upon by the Education Committee.

You can read past years' winning essays below.

Previous Student Essay Prize Winners

2024 Essay Prize title: 'How do we improve the design of clinical trials in haematology to meet the needs of patients?'

The winner was Justine Chan from the University of Cambridge, and the runner-up was Ananya Kannan from the University of Oxford.


2023 Essay Prize title: 'How do we prevent blood shortages in future?'

The winner was Sam Parsons from the Swansea Medical School, and the runner-up was Anatolia Nix from the University of Leicester.


2022 Essay Prize title: 'Will genomics replace the haematology and transfusion laboratory in the future?'

The winner was Jessica Whittle from the University of Oxford, and the runner-up was Scarlett Harris from the University of Oxford.


2021 Essay Prize title: 'Will we have to see haematology patients face-to-face in the future?'

The winner was Claire Otasowie from the University of Oxford, and the runner-up was Oliver Marwood from University College London.


2020 Essay Prize title: 'How are you inspired by haematology and how will you inspire others to become haematologists?'

The winner was Louis-Pierre Girard from the University of Aberdeen, and the runner-up was Joanna Parsons from Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.


2018 Essay Prize title: 'Patients are accessing their results and records. What are the implications for haematologists?'

The winner was Soumya Ojha from the University of Birmingham, and the runner-up was Alison Gooda from the Oxford Medical School.


2017 Essay Prize title: 'Discuss the possible roles of artificial intelligence in the future practice of haematology'.

The winner was Marco Narajos from the University of Oxford, and the runner-up was Karan Dahele from the UCL Medical School.


2016 Essay Prize title: 'Discuss the impact of obesity on the incidence and management of haematological disorders'.

The winner was Prateek Yadav from UCL Medical School, and the runner-up was Maria Fala from the University of Cambridge.


2015 Essay Prize title: 'Haematology and the ageing population – Implications for the practising haematologist'.

The winner was Jess Dunphy and the runner-up was Jemma Proudfoot-Jones, both from the University of Birmingham.


2014 Essay Prize title: 'Does the 21st century haematologist need a microscope?'

The winner was Tom Handley of the University of Oxford, and the runner-up was Kiloran Metcalfe, of the Oxford Medical School.


Read all previous prize-winning essays.


NIHR-BSH Researcher of the Year Award

The NIHR-BSH Researcher of the Year award is a joint initiative between the BSH and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to recognise recent contributions to clinical research efforts made by members of the BSH.

An award of £500 each will be given during the BSH Annual Scientific Meeting to up to three consultants, two trainees, and an allied health professional (AHP) or nurse selected by a joint panel of NIHR and BSH representatives.

Applicants must be active NHS consultants, trainees, nurses, physician associates, pharmacists or allied health professionals and should not hold a substantive academic appointment. They must also be members of the BSH.

We will announce the deadline for the 2025 award in due course.

Previous NIHR-BSH Researcher of the Year Award Winners

2024 Winners

Consultant winner: Dr Michael Desborough

Trainee winner: Dr Jahanzaib Khwaja


2023 Winners

Consultant winners: David Tucker and John Snowden

Trainee winner: Meng Wang

AHP winner: Orla McCourt


2022 Winners

Consultant winner: Toby Eyre

Trainee winner: Jennifer Vidler

AHP winner: Paul McLaughlin


2021 Winner

Consultant Winner: Dr. Deepa Arachchillage


2020 Winners

Consultant winners: Graham Collins and Quentin Hill

Trainee winners: Zara Sayar and Helen Marie Parry

AHP winner: Victoria Speed


2019 Winners

Read: Huw Rowswell - NIHR & BSH Nursing Award Winner

Consultant winners: Dr Tina Biss and Dr Nicola Curry

Trainee winners: Dr Pip Nicholson and Dr Claire Burney

AHP: Huw Rowswell


2018 Winners

Consultant winners: Dr Gill Lowe, Dr Tina Dutt, Sara Ghorashian and Dr Laura Green

Trainee winner: Dr David Tucker

Read about their research.

BSH Lifetime Achievement Award

The BSH Lifetime Achievement Award honours and recognises outstanding individuals who have made a major contribution to haematology in the UK (though the candidate does not have to be British).

Award criteria:

  • The award is for exceptional contribution to UK and international haematology.
  • Nominees can be from any discipline – scientist, nurse, medic, BMS, etc.
  • Nominees do not need to have been a BSH member or UK citizen.
  • The nominee should have spent the majority of their career in the UK.
  • The award is not intended to be for academic work alone.
  • The nominee should be in the latter part of their career or retired.
  • The nominee cannot be a current trustee or an office bearer for the previous three years.
  • It cannot be awarded posthumously.

Other information:

  • The award will not necessarily be awarded annually.
  • The award will be made at the BSH Annual Scientific Meeting.

Nominations for the 2025 award must be submitted by Tuesday, 31 December 2024.

For full guidance on the application process, view our information pack.

To submit your nomination, please download a nomination form and return it to
[email protected].

Previous BSH Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

2024 Winners

Professor Michael Makris and Professor Cheng-Hock Toh


2020 Winners

Professor Freda Stevenson and Dr William Wagstaff


2019 Winner

Professor Victor Hoffbrand

About this award.


2018 Winner

Professor Barbara Bain

Early Careers Achievement and
Undergraduate Achievement Award

These are exciting awards created by the BSH Early Career Forum. Each award has a prize value of £1,500, plus expenses to attend the 2025 BSH Annual Scientific Meeting.

These two awards will be for projects or ideas in service improvement, leadership, and workforce rearrangement. Applicants are encouraged to think broadly and innovatively. The prizes aim to foster professional development in students and people early in their careers and encourage reflection on how everyone can contribute to improvements in healthcare regardless of career stage.

The submission should relate to, or have the main focus on, haematology.

Eligibility:

This award is open to BSH members and non-members.

For the Undergraduate Achievement Award:

This prize is open to all healthcare students completing an undergraduate degree in their field.

For the Early Careers Achievement Award:

This prize is open to doctors in training, nurses and other healthcare professionals, a maximum of four years post-qualification. 

Application process and timeline:

Applications close Monday, 3 February, 2025.

Please email our Director of External Affairs, Theresa Crossley, with any questions.