Biomedical scientists awarded at IBMS AGM

On Saturday 9th June the IBMS hosted its seventy-sixth AGM in Northern Ireland.

The day was opened by IBMS President Alison Geddis, who welcomed all attendees and introduced the guest speaker Dr Jonathan Bloomfield, an expert in physiological stress and fatigue. His talk was entitled: 2018: Your strongest year? The path to wellbeing, engagement and productivity. This was followed by presentations on Harvey’s Gang, which is now active at hospitals in Northern Ireland and over 40 in England.

Council election results

The day’s proceedings also saw the election results of national and regional IBMS Council members.

Re-elected to national council were members Sean Conlan and Daniel Smith. The newly elected regional members are Colin Mudd, David Wells, Debra Padgett, David Eccleston and Matthew Smith.

Awards

Each year the AGM sees a number of awards and Company Members’ prizes given to promising scientists. These prestigious prizes go to the biomedical scientists who have shown excellence in their fields of study over the course of the year.

The Company Members’ Prize of the Higher Specialist Diploma (HSD)

This prize is awarded annually to the candidates who in their first attempt, earn the highest mark in each discipline of the Higher Specialist Diploma examination. This year’s awards go to:

• Sandra Iles from Hammersmith Hospital in London for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Cellular Pathology
• Joanne McCauley from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Clinical Chemistry
• Alena Charnetski from St George's Hospital in London for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Cytopathology
• Susan Jeffrey from Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Haematology
• Penny Feather from the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Immunology
• Faye Teare from the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Leadership and Management
• Lesley Davies from NHS Blood and Transplant in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the Higher Specialist Diploma Company Members Prize in Transfusion Science
• Shireen Padayachy, from Southampton General Hospital who achieved the highest mark across all Diploma of Expert Practice qualifications in Histological Dissection

The RJ Lavington Prize

This prize, which consists of a cheque for £500 and a silver medal, is awarded to the candidate who at the first attempt receives the highest mark in the Higher Specialist Diploma examination across all disciplines. This year’s award was presented to Alena Charnetski, who undertook the Higher Specialist Diploma in Cytopathology.

IBMS President Alison Geddis said

“These awards are made in recognition of individual achievement, and these candidates have demonstrated their excellence in the field. Well done to the all the candidates.”

We wish warm congratulations to all the newly elected Council members. We also wish to congratulate all the prizewinning candidates on their achievements and wish them the best of luck in the next stage of their careers.