Bursaries & Prizes
General Funding Applications
Applications to BSSH for research, overseas, education and travel grants should be made on the specific application forms on the relevant section on the BSSH website.
For any work that is in line with the charitable aims of BSSH, but does not meet the criteria of the below grants, application may be made via this general application.
Funding outcomes may be decided by the Treasurer, forwarded to the relevant subject committees within the BSSH for consideration, or judged by Council. Applications will be accepted at any time, but the deadline for consideration by Committees / Council during the Spring Scientific meeting is the last day of February annually, and for the Autumn Scientific meeting, the last day of August.
Applications suitable for specific grants, noted above, will be returned. Retrospective applications will not be considered unless there are exceptional outstanding circumstances, which should be outlined.
Completed application forms and supporting documentation should be sent to the Secretariat
Application form
Education and Travel Bursary
These awards are for members who wish to travel to centres of Hand Surgery, nationally and internationally and can be used to cover travel and accomodation, as well as other associated fees. These awards comprise of individual grants of up to £5,000 and are to support the education and training of BSSH members. Up to £20,000 will be awarded each year at the discretion of the Education and Training Committee. Members wishing to apply for amounts in excess of £5,000 should consider applying for the Stack Fellowship.
These awards cannot be used to cover course fees or travel expenses purely to attend a course. The closing dates are 31 January annually for awards to be made in March and 31 July annually for awards to be made in September. Please submit your application and abridged curriculum vitae to the Chairman of the Education and Training Committee by completing the application form below and returning it to the Secretariat.
Please note that these awards will not be awarded retrospectively except in exceptional circumstances, which must be detailed.
Successful applicants are required to submit a short written report within two months of completion.
Application form
BSSH Educational Grants
This grant is awarded for any activity that will support education and training in aspects relating to the management of patients with Hand Pathology. Examples could include the development of educational materials such as a Hand Trauma app or e-learning material, or running educational meetings, training meetings or symposia. Other relevant ideas will be considered.
The grants will not be awarded to cover course fees for individuals, fees for postgraduate qualifications or sponsorship to set up courses where a course fee is charged. There is no limit to the amount of money that can be requested for grants within this category. Grants of up to £5,000 can be awarded at the discretion of the Education and Training Committee and ratified by Council up to a total of £10,000 each year. The E&T Committee will vet applications for grants over £5,000 and those considered appropriate will be forwarded to Council for consideration.
Application is completed via the form below and should be accompanied by an abridged curriculum vitae. The closing dates are 31 January annually for awards to be made in March and 31 July annually for awards to be made in September. Please submit your application to the Chair of the Education & Training Committee through the Secretariat.
Please note these grants will not be awarded retrospectively.
Successful applicants are required to submit a short report within two months of completion of the project.
Application form
Medical Student Elective Bursary
BSSH offers four annual bursaries of £1,000 to support medical student elective attachments in Hand Surgery. The closing date is 31 January annually for awards to be made in March and 31 July annually for awards to be made in September. The attachment should be completed within 18 months of the award. Successful applicants are required to write a short report, of the elective within two months of its completion and this will be displayed on the BSSH website to guide future students. Applications should be sent using the application form below to the Chairman of the Education and Training Committee via the Secretariat.
Please note this award will not be awarded retrospectively.
Application form
Pulvertaft Prize
The Society offers a prize of £1,500 for an essay on a topic decided by the President of that year. The topic for the 2019 prize is "Innovation in Hand Surgery". This prestigious award, in honour of one of the pioneers in UK Hand Surgery has been awarded since 1975. The winning essay, together with a list of past winners are available here (link coming soon). Essays of a maximum of 2,500 words should be submitted to secretariat@bssh.ac.uk. The annual closing date for submissions is 30th June and submissions are assessed by the President and two other officers, council members or committee chairs.
Educational Presentation Prize
Two prizes to the value of £750 each are intended to encourage the production of videos on hand surgery to enlarge the BSSH Audiovisual Library. The deadline is 31 July annually and entries will judged by the Education and Training Committee at its September meeting. The prize-winning videos will be shown during the Society's Autumn Scientific Meeting. The videos can be sent electronically via such means as Google Drive, DropBox, WeTransfer or YouTube link to the secretariat.
BSSH/Healing Foundation Medical Electives Awards
The Healing Foundation in conjunction with BSSH offers Medical Student Electives Awards of £1,200 for the personal support of students during their 6-8 week elective period. Further information can be found on the Healing Foundation website.
Other Information
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England publishes a Handbook of Awards for research and other study as well as details of lectures that are held at the College.
Information is available from the General Office, Royal College of Surgeons of England, 35-42 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE.
Douglas Lamb Lecture
Douglas Lamb was the first Honorary Secretary of the Society from 1969-1975, President in 1977 and later on President of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand. He was known internationally as a pioneer in hand surgery. An annual lecture given at the BSSH Scientific Meetings by an overseas speaker was established in his memory.
2003: D P GREEN, USA; Two Drips in the Bucket (Spring Meeting)
2004: W A MORRISON, Australia; Spontaneous Tissue Regeneration: A Model for Tissue Engineering (Autumn Meeting)
2005: R SABAPATHY, India; Major Replantations of the Upper Limb (Spring Meeting)
2006: NO LECTURE
2007: A T BISHOP, USA; Vascularised Bone Grafts in Hand Surgery (Autumn Meeting)
2008: S E R HOVIUS, Netherlands; Operating on the Hand: What I used to do and still do (Spring Meeting)
2009: P J STERN, USA; Psychiatric Disorders in the Upper Extremity (Autumn Meeting)
2010: S P J KAY, LEEDS: The Paediatric Hand (Spring Meeting)
2011: T BRUSHART, USA: Evaluating the Outcome of Experimental Nerve Repair (Autumn Meeting)
2012: B ADAMS, USA: My Successes and Failures in Hand and Wrist Arthroplasty (Autumn Meeting)
2013: S P J Kay, LEEDS: Missing Hands (Spring Meeting)
2014: No Lecture
2015: L R SCHEKER: Understanding the Distal Radioulnar Joint (Autumn Meeting)
2016: M A TONKIN, SYDNEY: Guns, Bugs, Drugs and Scalpels
2017: S E R HOVIOUS, NETHERLANDS: Evidence basis of congenital Hand Surgery
2018: N JONES, USA: The Contribution of Microsurgery to Hand and Upper Limb Surgery (Spring Meeting)
2019: J DIAS: Back to the Future: The distal radius fracture story
Journal of Hand Surgery Prize
This prize is awarded annually for the best paper presented at the BSSH Autumn Meeting. The prize consists of book vouchers to the value of £500 and is funded by the Society .
1992: D A MCGROUTHER: Lumbrical Function: Contraction during Lengthening
1993: G E B GIDDINS: Spot Weld Injuries of the Hand
1994: K G ANDREW: Expression of Platelet Derived Growth Factor and its Receptors in Dupuytren's Disease
1995: P N HALL: Is Dermofasciectomy the best Treatment for Dupuytren's Disease? A review of 91 X-rays
1996: J G M MCDIARMID: Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) and the Initiation of Vertebrate Limb Development
1997: J HARRIS: The Interactive Hand
1998: NO AWARD
1999: N BORISCH: Treatment of Radio-ulnar Synostosis by Resection and Interposition of a Septofascial Flap: A Case Report
2000: D J SHEWRING: Avulsion Fractures from the Base of the Proximal Phalanges of the Fingers
2001: P LOREA: Denervation of the First Carpo-metacarpal Joint: Anatomical Basis
2002: P N MOHANNA: Long Gap Peripheral Nerve Repair using a Composite PHB-GGF Conduit
2003: E DONNA: Optimising Performance of the Cruciate Four-strand Tendon RepairM TOHILL: Functional Muscle Reinnervation following MGF Enhanced Axonal Regeneration
2004: W L LAM: Pentoxyfylline Inhibits Contraction of Dupuytren's Disease Fibroblasts in a Collagen Gel Lattice Model
M ROBERTS: Ligament Attachments to the Scaphoid Bone: A Study in 32 Cadaver Wrists
2005: W TOWNLEY: Targeting Matrix Remodelling by Dupuytren's Fibroblasts
2006: M C MILLER: Tendon Rupture in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Evidence that MT1-MMP Plays a Role
F YA'ISH: Clinical Assessment of Peripheral Nerve Injuries: A Novel Diagnostic Tool
2007: H NAGATA: The Natural History of Carpel Tunnel
B SINGH: In vivo Measurement of DRUJ Translation
2008: M A AKHAVANI: Tenosynovial Angiogenesis in Rheumatoid Hand Disease
2009: G BECKER: Operative Techniques for Primary Dupuytren's Disease: A Systematic Review
2010: L S VERJEE: Pathophysiology of Dupuytren's Disease
2011: A KARANTANA: A Randomised Prospective Clinical Trial Comparing Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures with Volar Locking Plate and Conventional Percutaneous Methods
2012: I DEGREEF: Therapy-resisting Dupuytren's Disease: A New Era in Adjuvant Treatment Approach?
O HARLEY: Four-year Outcomes of Neuflex PIP Joint Arthroplasty / Long-term Outcomes of Finsbury PIP Joint Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis
A WILLIAMS: Outcomes of Modified Brunelli Procedure in Professional Athletes with Scapholunate Instability
2013: A KARANTANA: Cost-effectiveness of Volar Locking Plate versus Percutanious Fixation for the Treatment of Distal Radius Fractures: An economic Evaluation alongside a Clinical Trial
2014: A McKEAN: Incidence and Shoulder Outcome of Unilateral Obstetric Brachial Plexus Injury in the Scottish Population
2015: C LIPEDE: A Review of Paediatric Campotodactyly in a Supra-regional Paediatric Hand Unit
Poster Prize
A Poster Prize of £250 is awarded for the best poster presentation at the Spring and Autumn Scientific Meetings.
2005: T HALSEY: Modified Splintage - Stronger, Cheaper, Lighter Plaster Cast Immobilisation (Autumn)
2006: A MIDDLETON: Failure of the Mathys Finger Joint Replacement System (Autumn)
2007: M S U HASSAN: The Outcome of Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in a General Plastic Surgery Unit: A Prospective Study (Spring)
2007: S S MEHTA: Hook Plate Fixation of FDP Avulsion Fractures (Autumn)
2008: T GREEN: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Validation of a Clinic Based Nerve Conduction Measurement Device (Spring)
2009: J CHOUEKA: Interobserver Reliability of the Thirty Degree Lateral View in Assessing Screw Position following Volar Plating of the Distal Radius (Spring)
B DALA-ALI: The Efficacy of Steroid Injections for Trigger Finger(Spring)
2009: H GBEJUADE: Complications and Outcomes after Treatment of Distal Radial Fractures with a Volar Locking Plate (Autumn)
H TUNNICLIFFE: Therapy Management of PIP Joint Arthroplasty Management: A Survey of Therapists' Perspectives (Autumn)
2010: J GIDDIE: Early Results of Pyrocarbon Proximal Inerphalangeal Joint Replacement from a District General Hospital (Autumn)
2011: A NICHOLLS: Sesamoid Arthrodesis of the Thumb Interphalangeal Joint (Spring)
2011: N LLOYD: A Modification of the Souquet and Hueston Flaps in Fingertip Reconstruction (Autumn)
2012: D MURRAY: Online Consent for Day Case Hand Surgery (Autumn)
2013: O TILLO: The 'Door Trap': A Lurking Monster (Spring)
2013: A ARETAKI: The Hand Trauma Coordinator Effect - One Year on (Autumn)
2014: D YEOH: Wrist Replacement: A Systematic Review of the Evidence from the last Five Years (Spring)
2014: J COELHO: "Bamboo Hand" - An Innovative Training Model for Hand Fracture Fixation (Autumn)
2015: R TAHA: Pseudotumour Secondary to Metallosis following Total Wrist Arthroplasty - Case Repor (Spring)
2015: J STREET: A Case Report of Methemoglobinemia following a Supraclavicular Prilocane Nerve Block for Ulnar Nerve Decompression (Autumn)
2016: S ROBINSON: Traction Tinsel's Sign (Spring)