Medical Student Prize
Twice a year the BSDS sets a title and format on a topic related to dermatological surgery and offers a prize for the winning submissions.
The BSDS Medical Student Prize (previously titled Undergraduate Essay Prize) is open to anyone who has medical student status at the time of application or who graduates that year.
January 2026
For the January 2026 round, we invite the submission of posters on any theme related to Dermatological Surgery. Submissions should seek to inform, and focus on innovation or emerging relevant themes, and be creative with content and format wherever possible.
The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 31 January 2026.
Download: Application form
Download: Poster Advert
Previous Essay Prize Winners
Click to View Previous Essays
- 2025, July – “A literature review on the role of optical coherence tomography in dermatological surgery” – Danae Tavlaridis, Brunel Medical School
- 2025, January – “Design up to 5 (PowerPoint) slides featuring content suitable for social media publication”. Blessing Khumbula, University of Warwick
- 2024, July – “Use your own creativity to show us how you would safely and efficiently train a medical student to perform an ellipse excision” (video) – William Birch, Leeds Medical School
- 2024, January – “Create a PIL on Mohs Micrographic surgery” – (concept design) Talia Patel, University of Nottingham Medical School.
- 2023, July – “How can we ensure valid consent in dermatologic surgery in the era of teledermatology and one-stop clinics?” – Zoe Hemsley, Cambridge University.
- 2023, January – “What are the most important priorities for skin surgery and skin cancer research and why?” – Mohammed J Ali, Hull York Medical School
- 2022, July – “You’re on mute! – Potentials and pitfalls with remote teaching in skin surgery” – Jessica McKeever, University of Dundee
- 2022, January – “What beneficial changes has the pandemic made to dermatological surgery?” Sukhmunni Johal Oxford University
- 2021, July – “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnose skin cancer in the future?” Laura Leeves, Kings College London.
- 2021, January – “How do we optimise operator safety during dermatological surgery?” Mahaveer Singh Sangha University of London Medical School
- 2020, July – “How do we optimise patients experience of dermatological surgical procedures?” Anastasia Constantinou, University of Cambridge
- 2020, January – “How can dermatological surgery become
more environmentally friendly?” Chaplin Catriona, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry - 2019, July – What will dermatological surgery look like in 2050? For this submission, the essay format had been changed to a 5-minute long video. Outcome Details coming soon.
- 2019, January – “Which doctors would make the best skin surgeons? Can we predict ability prior to training?” Pimentel-Velazquez Diana, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London
- 2018, July – “Will artificial intelligence and automated technology replace the need for Dermatologists to diagnosis skin cancer in the future?” Selvendran Sara, Imperial College London
- 2018, January – “Skin cancer and patients’ use of Dermatology apps – a cause for concern or the future of healthcare provision?” Yi Jia Teo, University College Cork School of Medicine, National University of Ireland
- 2017, July – “Should NHS patients have access to scar management?” Kelsey Aimar, University of Nottingham
- 2017, January – Two prizes awarded: “If Mohs skin surgery is the ‘gold standard for non-melanoma skin cancer treatment’, why doesn’t eveyone have it?” Ali Ansaripour, Kings College London GKT School of Medical Education and Antonio Ji Xu, Oxford University Medical School
- 2016, July – “Discuss the technological advances in dermatological and reconstructive surgery that have had the greatest impact on skin cancer patients” Joseph Jayasundera, King’s College London
- 2016, January – “Discuss the impact of targeted molecular skin cancer therapies on dermatological surgery”
Anna Ascott, Barts and The London - 2015, July – “How should we measure the “best” outcomes for skin cancer surgery?”
Mahdi Saleh, Keele University - 2015, January – “There is no need to treat any skin cancer with Mohs surgery – discuss“
Monty Lyman, University of Birmingham - 2014 – “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?”
Joseph Colclough, University of Glasgow
2014 – “How can patient expectations relating to skin cancer surgery be assessed and addressed?”
Katherine Farquhar, University of Glasgow - 2013 – “Skin Cancer and Vitamin D“
Verity Williams, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London. - 2012 – “Skin cancer surgery: who should do it and why?“
James Womersley, Peninsula College of Medicine & Dentistry, Universities of Exeter & Plymouth. - 2011 – “Rising skin cancer incidence: current and future impact on dermatological surgery“
Sarah Gentry, University of Exeter and Plymouth College of Medicine. - 2010 – “The role of technology in dermatological surgery“
George Coltart, Oxford University. - 2009 – “What is the role of the dermatologist in the management of Skin Cancer?“
Justice Reilly, Glasgow University Medical School. - 2008 – “The impact of climate change on skin cancer“
Laura Thomas, Imperial College.
2008 – “The impact of climate change on skin cancer“
Rory Honney, Oxford University. - 2007 – “Discuss aspects of healing in skin surgery“
Faisal Ali, Oxford University. - 2006 – “Surgical and emotional scars of skin cancer“
Daniel Todkill, Warwick University
