• The Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize will run annually and is open to Foundation doctors in their first two years of postgraduate medical training
• The Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2024 opens on 18 January 2024 and closes at 23.59 GMT on 8 May 2024
• The essay has to be no more than 1,000 words, excluding references and bibliography.
• A prize of £250 will be awarded to the winning entrant, as well as having their essay published on our website and in the College magazine, The Bulletin.
• Full details, including essay specifications and format, are in the Terms and Conditions document, which can be found below.

• Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2024 Terms and Conditions

  January 2024

Submit your essay in either Microsoft Word (doc, docx) format or PDF format and email it to [email protected] and include subject line 'Foundation Essay Prize 2024'. Please download the front cover below and use it to submit your essay; keep all other pages of your essay anonymous (free of any personal information). The front page will be removed before essays go to the judging panel. Please note that we are only accepting online submissions. Further information is in the Terms and Conditions document below.  

• The Paola Domizio Essay Prize will run annually and is open to undergraduates studying medicine, biomedical science, veterinary medicine or dentistry.
• The Paola Domizio Essay Prize 2024 opens on 18 January and closes at 23.59 GMT on 8 April 2024
• The essay has to be no more than 1,000 words, excluding references and bibliography.
• A prize of £250 will be awarded to the winning entrant, as well as having their essay published on our website and in the College magazine, The Bulletin.
• Full details, including essay specifications and format, are in the Terms and Conditions document, which can be found below.

• Paola-Domizio-Undergraduate-Essay-Prize-2024-Terms-and-Conditions

  January 2024

Congratulations to Anamay Shetty for winning the Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize 2022. The essay question for this year’s prize was 'Which one scientific discovery or pathologist has had the most significant impact on medicine/pathology in the last 60 years?'. Download and read Anamay's winning essay above. 

Anamay is a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge, who will be going on to do his foundation training in Aylesbury and Oxford.

How do you feel about winning this year’s Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize? 

I am very glad that the judges enjoyed my submission as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Why did you enter this essay competition?

I heard about this competition from my medical school, and I enjoy writing about medicine, so I thought it was a good fit. The prize money would also go a (small) way to offset the costs from frequent trips home to see my family and London to see my friends!

What course and year are you currently studying and at which university? 

I am a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge, going on to foundation training in Aylesbury and Oxford.

What do you hope to do in the future? 

I don’t know what I want to do yet – I have heard pathology is a good speciality choice.

What do you like about pathology? 

I like pathology because pathology is modern medicine. Prior to pathology developing as a field in the late 19th century, we had made some progress in understanding the body (anatomy, the beginnings of physiology and infectious disease transmission, some bioactive compounds) but we were stuck without a correct theory of how these integrated together. The development of a theoretical base (germ theory, genetic basis of cancer) and the tools (microscopy, IHC, PCR) from pathology meant we could rationally investigate disease and develop treatments which we associate with medicine today.

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition? 

You should apply for this competition! It is hard to find time to think about medicine broadly in medical school, so it is a great opportunity to write essays like this.

Congratulations to Dr Saumya Singh for winning the Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2022. The essay subject for this year was 'How has pathology changed in the last 60 years?'. Download and read Saumya's winning essay above. 

Saumya is a Foundation Doctor at the Essex, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire Foundation School.

How do you feel about winning this year’s Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize?

I am delighted to have won this year’s Foundation prize. I found this year’s question challenging but highly enjoyable. It was not easy trying to summarise sixty years of amazing advancement in pathology into 1000 words! I am pleased my entry was chosen by the judges.

Why did you enter this essay competition?

I am at the stage of my career where I am exploring what to do after my Foundation training is complete. I enjoyed learning pathology at medical school and so I entered the competition to explore more about pathology as a field of work. This year’s question was broad and intrigued me.

What do you hope to do in the future?

I am keeping an open mind about my future career. I hope to complete Internal Medical Training as a first step and have been exploring Infectious Disease & Medical Microbiology by doing a taster week in the specialty.

What do you like about pathology?

I always enjoyed pathology at medical school. Pathology reveals the amazing intricacies of the body and its interactions with the outside world. I find the science fascinating and appreciate how an understanding of pathology aids clinical decision making and communication with patients about what is happening to them and why.

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition?

I would encourage fellow Foundation Doctors to go for it and enter this competition! There is nothing to lose by entering. I learned a lot about pathology by participating and it was a fun challenge to work on.

Congratulations to Maeve McLaughlin for winning the Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2021. Download and read Maeve's winning essay above. Maeve is currently in her second year of training at the Severn Foundation School. 

How do you feel about winning this year’s Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize?

I am delighted, I really enjoyed learning about the subject and found it extremely relevant in the current climate.

Why did you enter this essay competition?

The title grabbed me - the world is talking about testing strategies to manage COVID-19 and I wanted an opportunity to educate myself further on the current testing methods, and the future ones we are working towards.

What do you hope to do in the future?

I am hoping to specialise in Intensive Care. I worked there as my first foundation job and enjoyed it a lot. Understanding the underlying pathology helped me come to terms with the complex conditions the patients presented with. I was also redeployed there during the first wave of the pandemic. 

What do you like about pathology?

I always enjoyed pathology at medical school, I felt it was the bridge to making sense of disease processes. I feel a good understanding of pathology translates into better clinical practice and improves communication with patients. 

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition?

Go for it! It is a great way to learn more about a topic that you are interested in. 

Congratulations to Rebecca Sarsam for winning the Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize 2021. Download and read Rebecca's winning essay above. 

Rebecca is studying medicine at King’s College London and currently undertaking an intercalated MSc in Immunology of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She will be returning to the fourth year of her medical degree in August.

How do you feel about winning this year’s Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize? 

Pretty great! It was a bit of a surprise, but a very pleasant one.

Why did you enter this essay competition?

The question was a very interesting one, given the events of the last two years, and the competition was a good way to practice essay-writing skills and explore areas of pathology that were only touched upon in my medical course, such as the roles of virologists and immunologists.

What do you hope to do in the future? 

I'm not totally sure yet. I've really enjoyed studying Immunology during my intercalation so Clinical Immunology sounds like a good specialty, but I also find Haematology very interesting, and there are still many specialties that I haven't had much exposure to yet.

What do you like about pathology? 

I like how the links are made between a disease process and the symptoms suffered by patients, and how understanding the aetiology of a disease can lead to discovery of  effective treatments.

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition? 

Go for it! It's an excellent opportunity to delve deeper into an area of pathology that interests you and also to hone your writing skills.

Congratulations to Chuer Zhang for winning the Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2020. Download and read Chuer's winning essay above. 

Chuer is a FY2 trainee at Northern Ireland Foundation School and is looking to make an application for histopathology training.

How do you feel about winning this year’s Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize?

Very ecstatic! I’m so honoured that the panel liked my essay, and to have the chance to have my experience read by more people.

Why did you enter this essay competition?

I came across this competition when I was exploring applying to pathology. The title “Tiny test, huge impact” immediately caught my attention. As detailed in my essay, I have had a lot of personal experience of how a pathology result can change a patient’s course of treatment and ultimately affect their lives and their wider social circle.

What do you like about pathology?

The variety it offers – it forms the basis of such a wide range of other specialties. Also, it allows further exploration and understanding of the mechanism of health and disease which I find fascinating.

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition?

Definitely give it a go! It makes you reflect on your experience more, and appreciate the role pathology plays in the course of a patient’s treatment despite often being in the background.

Congratulations to Harry Adams for winning the Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize 2020. Download and read Harry's winning essay above. 

Harry is a final year medicine undergraduate at Newcastle University. We found out what motivated him to enter this year's competition. 

How do you feel about winning this year’s Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize?  

I am absolutely thrilled! It has come as a real surprise to me and I am so excited by it. 

Why did you enter this essay competition?  

Due to the lockdown imposed in response to COVID-19, I was unable to complete my immunology research project, which was the final part of my MRes intercalation. Entering this essay competition allowed me to continue developing my writing and research skills, in a topic that interested me.  

What do you like about pathology?  

I like the idea of how through understanding fundamental disease processes, a pathologist pieces together clinical and laboratory findings to arrive at a diagnosis, ultimately helping to understand the presentations of different patients and guide treatment.

What do you hope to do in the future?  

I am still undecided! I loved learning more about immunology over the last year and am torn between the academic and clinical approaches to medicine. 

What would you say to students who are considering entering this competition?  

Give it a go! It is a great opportunity to practice essay writing skills and appreciate topics not usually taught at university.  

Congratulations to Keir Edwards for winning the Hugh Platt Foundation Essay Prize 2019. Download and read Keir's winning essay above. 

Keir is currently in his second year of Foundation training at Poole NHS Foundation Trust and is hoping to enter speciality training in histopathology. We found out what motivated him to submit his essay. 

Why did you decide to enter the competition? 

During my FY2 jobs in haematology and microbiology I became interested in how we can better explain pathology results to patients. I wanted to explore this further in the essay.

What do you like about pathology? 

The huge variety it offers; being at the intersection of science and clinical medicine; the people - many things!

Congratulations to Toal O'Connor for winning the Paola Domizio Undergraduate Essay Prize 2019. Download and read Toal's winning essay. 

Toal is a third year medical student training at Queen's University in Belfast.

Why did you decide to enter the competition? 

It was suggested by the module co-ordinator of my student selected component [SSC] that I consider applying for the competition. Dr Kathleen Mulholland at Altnagelvin Hospital gave us a great introduction to pathology in the clinical setting. The topic also seemed very relevant. I'm a graduate entrant to medicine, previously qualifying as a pharmacist, and genomics will also have a big impact on how that profession works.

What do you hope to do in the future?

That's a difficult one! I'm definitely considering a career as a pathologist at the moment, but medicine's so vast that I'm just taking it one step at a time.

What do you like about pathology? I find pathology very interesting as it's the foundation of understanding all disease processes in medicine. I also quite enjoy the interdisciplinary aspect of the role of a pathologist and the opportunity to specialise further within the field.