It’s been three months since The 2020 Student Voice Prize officially opened for submissions back on 5th October 2020. Over that period, we received impressive essays from around the world and were inundated with patient group pairing requests. It’s with great excitement that Findacure and M4RD can announce The 2020 Student Voice Prize winners, who dazzled the judges with their powerful and impactful rare disease essays.
Please help us congratulate the following SVP winners!
2020 Overall Winner
- Catriona Chaplin from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry for her essay entitled, “Unmasked: an insight into three patients’ rare disease experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
- Catriona was paired with The UK Mastocytosis Support Group who invited her to speak with three patients who live with mastocytosis and their families.
- You can catch Catriona speaking about her winning essay at The Unusual Suspects: Rare disease in everyday medicine, which is organised by M4RD and The Royal Society of Medicine, on 24th February at 6pm GMT. Claim your FREE tickets to this event!
2020 Runner-Up:
- Caitlyn Taylor from The University of Edinburgh for her essay entitled, “The Journey of a Rare Disease Patient”
- Caitlyn was paired with the Addison’s Disease Self Help Group who gave her insights into life as a rare disease patient.
2020 Runner-Up:
- Molly Bowden from The University of Edinburgh for her essay entitled, “What is Leigh Syndrome? If you had MS, I could help you”
- Molly was paired with a patient living with Leigh Syndrome who highlighted the challenges she faces with healthcare service, especially when seeking care from those who lack awareness of rare diseases.
2020 Runner-Up:
- Sanjana Ashok from St. George’s, University of London for her essay entitled, Rare Disease Research: What challenges have presented in a global pandemic?
- Sanjana was paired with The International WAGR Syndrome Association. She was introduced to a mother who has a son with WAGR Syndrome to learn first-hand the impact COVID-19 has had on his care.
Catriona’s winning essay will be published in full in the Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases and Caitlyn, Molly and Sanjana’s essays will be published on BioMed Central‘s blog closer to Rare Disease Day 2021. If you want a taste of what’s to come in their essays, read our 2020 Student Voice Prize winners blog, which features excerpts from all four essays!
