The College’s 2 annual essay prizes offer undergraduates and foundation doctors the chance to take an in-depth look at a particular aspect of pathology through a written piece. This year's essay questions centre around the impact of climate change on health, disease and pathology.
The College runs 2 essay prizes each year – the Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize and the Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize. Prize winners in both competitions are awarded £250 and are presented with a certificate at an RCPath event. You can find out more about each competition and read this year’s winning essays below. Read interviews with the 2024 winners on the competition webpage.
Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize
The Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize is an opportunity for foundation doctors with an aspiration to specialise in pathology to explore how pathology makes a difference to patients, as well as a unique opportunity to boost their CV ahead of applying for specialty training.
The competition is posthumously named after Dr Hugh Platt, an RCPath Fellow who contributed a huge amount to the work of the College and to the support of postgraduate medical training in pathology disciplines.
2024 winner
Dr Katie Griffiths, a foundation doctor based in North London, was awarded with the prize for her essay in the 2024 Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Competition.
The essay subject for this year was ‘Today's greatest global challenges and health threats are the result of human activity affecting the natural environment. Discuss, with examples relevant to pathology specialties.'
Professor Marta Cohen, the RCPath Vice President for Learning, was the judge for this year's competition.
Read Katie's winning essay: Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2024 winner.
Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize
The Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize is open to all undergraduates who are passionate about pathology and who are studying any related course. It offers students the opportunity to demonstrate their enthusiasm and explore a fascinating subject through writing.
The competition is posthumously named after Professor Paola Domizio, an RCPath Fellow who contributed a huge amount to the work of the College and to pathology education.
2024 winner
The winner of the 2024 Paola Domizio Essay Prize is Aleksandra Tanaka, a second-year medical undergraduate who is studying jointly at Cardiff and Bangor universities. The essay topic for the 2024 competition was ‘Climate change presents a fundamental threat to human wellbeing. Discuss how it impacts health, disease and pathology.’
Dr Noha El Sakka, the RCPath Vice President for Communications, was the judge for this year's competition. She commented on the high standard of the essays submitted and said it was “great to see this level of effort, research and knowledge amongst undergraduates”.
Aleksandra’s winning essay is here.