About this event

  • Date and time Wed 11 Mar 2026 from 5:30pm to 11 Mar 2026 at 7:45pm
  • Location Royal Society of Medicine
  • Organised by History of Medicine Society
Each year, the RSM History of Medicine Society awards the Norah Schuster Prizes to three UK medical students for the best essays on a history of medicine topic. The prize winners present their research in short talks at the Society’s March meeting, opening the evening’s programme.
 
The meeting gives prize winning medical students the chance to present their work, offering attendees with high-quality insights into medical history, and highlighting the value of family papers in historical research. It also shows how a distinguished medical career can be combined with a continuing passion for history.
 
This year’s meeting will be especially memorable, with Professor Sir Mark Walport delivering the keynote lecture following the student presentations. His talk, "Medical Missionaries in China: a multi-generational family perspective", will explore the role of medical missionaries in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. Drawing on family correspondence and archival research, Sir Mark will share insights into their motivations, experiences, and the lasting impact of their work in clinics, hospitals, and medical education.

By attending the meeting, you will:

  • Have the opportunity to present your work and obtain feedback from a knowledgeable audience.
  • Gain an understanding of the experience of medical missionaries in China during the 19th and 20th centuries. 
  • Have an appreciation of the advantages and limitations of the use of family correspondence in medical history. 

Show Virtual / In Person rates

Agenda

View the programme

Registration
Welcome and introduction

Professor Marguerite Dupree, President 2025 - 2026, History of Medicine Society, Royal Society of Medicine 

100 years since the introduction of the kerr technique: The development of different surgical techniques used in caesarean sections throughout history

Francesca Carrino

The Peckham experiment, 100 years on: Pioneers of preventive medicine

Jennifer Okerenta

How did zora janzekovic's tangential excision change burn care, and how does it still shape modern burn surgery?

Aleksandra Nowak

The creation of a public health in Cardiff c.1774-1850: How did a Chadwickian sanitary vision of public health rationalise and develop in the Welsh town of Cardiff?

Morgan Bailey

Medical missionaries in China: A multi-generational family perspective

Professor Sir Mark Walport

Panel discussion
Closing remarks
Close of meeting 
Optional dinner

Pre-registered members and guests only 

View the programme

Welcome and introduction

Chair: Professor Marguerite Dupree, President 2025 - 2025, History of Medicine Society, Royal Society of Medicine 

Nora Schuster prize presenters
Medical missionaries in China: A multi-generational family perspective

Professor Sir Mark Walport

Panel discussion
Closing remarks
Close of meeting 

Location

Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole St, Marylebone, London, W1G 0AE, United Kingdom

eRegistration for this event will close at 1:00am on Tuesday 10 March 2026. Late registrations will not be accepted.

The agenda is subject to change at any time.

All views expressed at this event are those of the speakers themselves and not of the Royal Society of Medicine or the speakers' organisations.