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On 16 June, the winners of the 2022 NDS Staff Awards were announced at a departmental summer BBQ at the Cherwell Boathouse in Oxford.

The winners of the 2022 Team of the Year award
From L to R: Jackie Heap, Nicky Iyer, Odette Dawkins and Tarryn Ching

The annual awards recognise and celebrate the achievements and hard work of staff members from across the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences (NDS).

Special plaques were presented to the winners by Dr Jo Snoeck, the Departmental Administrator.

Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners and nominees:

Citizen of the Year 

Fadi Issa

Fadi (pictured bottom right) is a dedicated and enthusiastic member of the NDS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee and has consistently proven his commitment to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion in the department. Fadi goes above and beyond his already demanding role by proposing and planning EDI events under his own initiative, hosting the NDS Picture a Scientist discussion and provoking an important discussion on the state of inclusion and harassment in the research industry. Fadi is an excellent example of the traits we need in our professors and has been a true advocate for and an agent of positive change.

Nominees: Lucy Davies, Hannah McGivern, Fadi Issa, and Amy Taylor 

Regent Lee (winner of the Scientific Achievement of the Year award) and Fadi Issa (winner of the Citizen of the Year award).

The employee of the Year 

Emily Hotine

Emily has shown excellence in her role by successfully completing to a high standard our Athena SWAN Silver Award Renewal submission. She is an effective leader and a positive role model for equality, diversity and inclusion, most notably as the Co-chair of the EDI Committee and whilst implementing our Athena SWAN action plan. She is caring about the wellbeing of all staff and students in the department, and shows determination and dedication in finding solutions and ways to boost employee wellbeing.

Nominees: Joseph Beckett, Adam Lambert, Nadjat Medeghri, Claire Edwards, David Maldonado-Perez, Guy Westwood, Monica Dolton, Emily Hotine, Jinseon (Selena) Kim, and Philippa Wren

Team of the Year 

Academic Support Professionals (Maddy Mitchell, Odette Dawkins, Aimee Stewart, Tarryn Ching, Louise Stile, Philippa Wren, Sue Patchett, Jackie Heap, Tim Eden and Nicky Iyer)

The Academic Support Professional team meet on a regular basis to review the workload and projects in the department and take on additional projects to support research groups and teams where they need additional support. This has saved NDS costs in not needing to take on temporary staff and has been hugely beneficial in ensuring departmental projects are completed in a timely and efficient manner. They are always willing to help and not shy to take on extra work.

Nominees: Surgical Intervention Trials Unit (SITU), Finance and Grants, Academic Support Professionals, and Translational Research Immunology Group (TRIG)

Early-stage Researcher of the Year

Conor Keogh

Conor’s work has resulted in the submission of four first-author manuscripts and two technical papers over the last years. This work has formed the basis for multiple ongoing projects.

In recognition of his work, Conor was an invited speaker at the first-ever restorative neurosurgery panel at the European Society of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ESSFN) congress, where he was awarded the ESSFN Research Award and a grant to support the clinical translation of his work on the restoration of hand function in patients with high spinal cord injuries.

Conor is a significant asset to the department and in the last year has demonstrated individual excellence worthy of recognition as well as a significant positive impact on those around him.

Scientific Achievement of the Year 

Regent Lee

Regent (pictured above left) is an Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery and one of eight Oxford University academics who have been awarded significant financial funding from the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowships Scheme, the only surgeon in a cohort of 97.

The UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships scheme was created to help develop the next wave of world-class research and innovation leaders in academia and business.

Regent is a clinically active academic surgeon and currently an honorary consultant vascular surgeon at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.