Helen Cocks, Vasant and Nirmala Oswal, and Nirmal Kumar.
Katherine Conroy, FRCS (ORL-HNS), Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, UK.
The ENT UK Foundation made the most of London’s late summer sunshine, launching the Research Showcase with an evening drinks reception on the Howden’s Insurance rooftop terrace, overlooking the iconic City skyline. Professor Nirmal Kumar commemorated the late Andrew Foster as a valued trustee of ENT UK and founding member of the foundation; his wife Sara presented Anna Slovick with the Andrew Foster Leadership Grant to establish a Women in ENT Surgery leadership course. Another special guest in attendance was Vasant Oswal, recipient of the Rowena Ryan Lifetime Trainer Award, who spoke warmly of the role education plays in healthcare excellence.
The following day, the main event took place at the Royal Society of Medicine. BOARS hosted the morning sessions with a fantastic selection of free papers, where Sumrit Bola won the coveted Philip Stell prize for her exciting work on potential applications of circulating tumour DNA in the treatment of head and neck cancer, with audiologist Marina Forbes also being recognised for her study examining the feasibility of dementia screening at routine audiology appointments. Proceedings were rounded off with an illuminating, whistle-stop tour of everything we know (and don’t know) about olfaction by Thomas Hummel of Dresden’s Smell and Taste Clinic.
The afternoon saw applicants vying for the Rowena Ryan Awards; themes ranged from pandemic-friendly innovations in training, patient-centred approaches to decision making and consent, subtyping hearing loss and tympanoplasty outcomes. They were accompanied by Audoen Healy’s moving tribute to Ryan, highlighting her passion for surgery and ENT. Next up were the previous year’s ENT UK Foundation Grant Awardee presentations, and finally, the highly anticipated award announcements; too numerous to be listed here, but can be found on the ENT UK website. Pictured is Emma Stapleton, ENT Features Editor of ENT & Audiology News, receiving the award for Best Young Consultant-Led Audit, Research or Training.
After the day’s display of such diverse speakers and high-quality research, across so many areas of ENT, delegates will already be looking forward to hearing learning about the latest grants’ outcomes next year.
