On Tuesday 9th December 2025 the Undergraduate Teaching Awards ceremony brought together educators, students and colleagues to celebrate this past year’s achievements in undergraduate medical education at the Trust. Prof Harish Thampy (Programme Lead, MMS), Steve Canty (Chief Medical Officer), Ailsa Brotherton (Director of Continuous Improvement), Neil Pease (Chief People Officer) and Alison Sykes (Postgraduate DME) all attended the ceremony too.
The awards, which were voted for by the medical students, highlighted the excellent efforts of educators and their teams, highlighting their individual /team feedback from students on how they have significantly contributed to medical students learning experiences at LTHTr.
LTHTr Hospital Dean, Consultant Paediatrician, and Senior Honorary Chair in Manchester Medical School, Professor Madhavi Paladugu, extended her heartfelt gratitude in her opening remarks for all the hard work that goes into supporting medical students’ education. She said:
“I would like to thank you all for the effort that goes behind supporting the students. All the hard work that goes on throughout the STAPS Team, Pastoral Support Teams, Simulation and Skills Team, Education Governance Team, the Libraries Team, the Clinical Teams and all the other teams, to provide the best support they can give to the medical students. Without you, our medical education delivery would be impossible.”
Deputy Director of Education, Lauren O’Brien, echoed her gratitude with “Undergraduate medical education is the foundation of our future healthcare workforce. By welcoming students into our Hospital, we not only invest in their growth but also strengthen our own culture of learning and excellence. Thank you to everyone for the dedication, teamwork, and support you provide to our students and to one another. Your commitment ensures that we deliver outstanding education and makes a lasting difference.”
There were a variety of awards to recognise all the outstanding educators and placements across multiple categories:
Best Clinical Teaching Award
- 1st Place: Dr Neil Lazaro
“Excellent teaching by Dr Lazaro both sessions were delivered to a very high standard”. - 2nd Place: Dr Benjamin Phillips
- 3rd Place: Dr Ayesha Madan
Best Nurse/Midwife/PA/Allied Health Professional Award
- 1st Place: John Bretherton
“Excellent educator who offered fantastic patient interaction opportunities very conducive to our learning and understanding of this patient population. Also, very good patient manner and empathy”. - 2nd Place: Dawn Parkinson
- 3rd Place: Nimmy Panjikkaran
Best Year 5 Undergraduate Teaching Placement Award
- 1st Place: Gastroenterology (Dr Philip Shields, Dr Abhishek Sharma, Dr Ian Drake & Dr Elinor Shuttleworth)
“Ward staff and Consultants were all extremely helpful both in providing teaching and finding skills opportunities”.
- 2nd Place: Critical Care & Acute Anaesthetics (Dr Cristian Salbaticu & Dr Stewart French)
- 3rd Place (joint): ED led by Dr Brian Chivima & Colorectal Surgery (Mr Chris Kearsey, Mr Paul Barrow, Mr Peter Mitchell, Mr Tarek Hany, Mr Edward Parkin, Mr Arnab Bhowmick & Mr Alan Beveridge)
Student Choice Award (in Memory of Kay Cartwright)
- 1st Place: Samantha Leonard
“Sam is a consistent, supportive facilitator who always had time for the students. She made sure we got the most out of our women’s health placement. She helped us stay on track and ironed out any issues we came across. Students are lucky to have her”.
- 2nd Place: Craig Robinson
- 3rd Place (joint): Dr Leena Tripathi & Gabriela Walker
Best FY1 or FY2 Involved in Undergraduate Teaching Award
- 1st Place: Dr Sayan Biswas
“Sayan Biswas is the best F1 we have ever spoken too. We genuinely can’t speak highly enough of him and his commitment to teaching us”.
- 2nd Place: Dr Thomas Gaskill
- 3rd Place (joint): Dr Yahya Khan & Dr Jaiesh Lilley
Year 4 Student Achievement Award
- 1st Place: Jarlath Swail
- 2nd Place: Katie Mathieson
- 3rd Place: Laurence Malsom
Best Year 4 TCD/SCT Facilitator Award
- 1st Place: Dr Ayesha Madan
“Incredibly good teacher who is able to explain complex topics easily and enjoyably”.
- 2nd Place: Dr Elizabeth MacPhie
- 3rd Place: Dr Ashley Horsley
Best Year 4 Medical Teaching Undergraduate Placement Award
- 1st Place: Child Health (Dr Sathiyapriya Kandasamy & Craig Robinson)
“Really enjoyed this block. Excellent teaching, I feel I have learnt a lot and have a good understanding of paediatric medicine now. Thank you”.
- 2nd Place: MSK (Ms Charlotte Cross, Ann Smith & Pauline Smithson)
- 3rd Place: Women’s Health (Dr Julie Guiver, Sam Leonard & Susan Rowlands)
Year 3 Student Achievement Award
- 1st Place: William Macinnes
- 2nd Place: Mohammed Adam
- 3rd Place: Amelia Websdale
Best Year 3 TCD/SCT Facilitator Award
- 1st Place: Dr Leena Tripathi
“Fantastic teaching by Leena, she really cares about student experience”.
- 2nd Place: Dr Neil Lazaro
- 3rd Place (joint): Dr Sandeep Dharmaraj & Dr Claire Vassallo
Best Year 3 Undergraduate Medical Teaching Placement Award
- 1st Place: Oncology (Dr Catherine Mitchell)
“Fantastic placement. Staff were wonderful and always had time for you. More than happy to help and teach”.
- 2nd Place: Surgery 3 – Upper GI (Mr Ilayaraja Rajendran)
- 3rd Place: Critical Care ( Dr Sudhindra Kulkarni)
Best Non-Clinical Staff Member
- 1st Place: Emily Francis
“Emily is very quick to reply to queries as well as being welcoming and friendly at TCD”.
- 2nd Place: Zoe Cross
- 3rd Place (joint): Frances Templeton, Joanne Addison & Litsa Bartlett
Recognition was also given to a number of the placements offered across the Trust, which were awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze ratings based on feedback from the medical students.
Gold Awards:
- Year 3: Critical Care, Endocrine 1, Oncology & Surgery 3 (Upper GI).
Silver Awards:
- Year 3: Cariology 2, Gastroenterology 2, AMU, Respiratory 1, Renal, Surgery 1 (Urology) & Surgery 4 (Colorectal).
- Year 4: Ageing & Complex Health, Neurology, ENT, Oncology, MSK Health, Child Health, Breast, Women’s Health, Infectious Diseases & Mental Health.
- Year 5: ED, AMU, Critical Care & Acute Anaesthetics, Oncology, Gastroenterology, Respiratory, Urology, Vascular & Colorectal.
Bronze Awards:
- Year 3: Cardiology 1, Gastroenterology 1, Respiratory 2 & Surgery 2 (Vascular).
- Year 4: Dermatology & Ophthalmology.
- Year 5: SAU, Upper GI, Orthopaedics, Renal, Endocrine, Cardiology & Plastics.
Keynote speaker Steve Canty expressed his admiration for the dedication shown by all staff:
“I am inspired by the breadth of teaching and the level of dedication from all at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. We go from strength to strength and inspire the next generation of Doctors to be the very best they can – long may it continue.”
The Undergraduate Teaching Awards was a fantastic success, demonstrating the combined efforts of educators, staff, and students at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. A big thank you to the Education Governance Team (especially Jeanette Carroll) and Curriculum Team for organising the awards evening.