HENAHAN PRIZE WINNING ESSAY A CLEAR AND COMPELLING STORY

The winner of this year’s John Henahan Prize for Young Ophthalmologists writing award is Sidath Liyanage, who is currently nearing the end of his registrar training at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.  He aims to specialise in vitreoretinal surgery.His winning entry was on the topic “How Do I Learn Surgery?” Emanuel Rosen, chief medical editor of EuroTimes, said the common consent among the eight independent judges was that the winning essay by Dr Lyanage was outstanding because of its clear and compelling story. “We had a record number of entries this year, which indicates the popularity of this prize. In the end we decided to award the prize to Dr Lyanage because his story was beautifully written. It indicates that he has a future in the art of composition and he also knows how to keep the attention of his readers,” said Dr Rosen. Dr Rosen was joined on the judging panel by Thomas Kohnen, chairman of the ESCRS Publications Committee; Jose Guell, former president of the ESCRS; Oliver Findl, chairman of the ESCRS Young Ophthalmologists Committee; Sean Henahan, editor of EuroTimes; Paul McGinn, editor of EuroTimes; and Robert Henahan, contributing editor of EuroTimes. Dr Liyanage received a travel bursary worth €1,000 to attend the XXXIII Congress of the ESCRS and a special trophy was presented to him at the Video Awards Session yesterday. After receiving his prize, Dr Lyanage said: “I am delighted to have won this prize, especially on a topic so close and important to me. Writing this would not have been possible without all the help that I have received from both trainers and colleagues during my training.” The prize is named in honour of John Henahan, who edited EuroTimes from 1996 to 2001. “John’s work has inspired a generation of young doctors and journalists, many of whom continue to work for EuroTimes. The prize will not only bring satisfaction to the winner and credit to all the contributors, but may enhance all their prospects of pursuing a medical writing aspect to their future careers. We look forward to their further contributions to EuroTimes and the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery,” said Dr Rosen. The winning entry will be published in the October issue of EuroTimes, which has a special focus on Young Ophthalmogists. Details of next year’s competition will be announced in the coming months.