Celebrating our 2026 Prize and Awards Winners
Please join us in congratulating all of our 2026 Prize and Awards winners and celebrating their remarkable contributions to our community and to healthcare.
This year’s winners represent the very best of physics and engineering applied to medicine and biology, showcasing exceptional contributions across innovation, healthcare, academia, patient benefit, outreach and collaboration. Their achievements demonstrate the breadth and impact of our community, from translating pioneering research and technology into clinical practice, to inspiring the next generation and improving the lives of patients.
Gold Medal Award in Innovation
Dr Aaron Oliver-Taylor
Awarded to a member who has a substantial and sustained track record at an outstanding level of contribution to advancement of innovation; related to physics and engineering applied to medicine and biology.
Dr Oliver-Taylor has an impressive record of sustained innovation and technical leadership in quantitative MRI. His work presents a strong example of how innovation can bridge science, engineering, and clinical impact, and highlights the significant contribution he has made to the field.
He has successfully translated complex scientific and engineering concepts into practical technologies that are helping to improve the reliability of MRI measurements for healthcare and research. His work on MRI calibration, particularly through the development of METRION and related technologies, reflects a clear commitment to addressing important challenges in medical imaging and advancing precision medicine.
"For as long as I have worked in Magnetic Resonance Imaging, I have found it incredible that it can generate images where the value of a voxel can represent a measurement of a physical quantity.
As Chief Technical Officer at Gold Standard Phantoms I have spent over a decade trying to answer the question "how can we be sure that this measurement is correct?", through the development and commercialisation of technologies that enable metrologically traceable MRI measurements. I strongly believe that the reliable, objective measurements that MRI calibration enables, will bring real clinical impact, through better diagnosis of disease and monitoring of therapies.
To have this work recognised with the IPEM Gold Medal in Innovation is a huge honour. It is incredibly rewarding to see our efforts to bridge science, engineering, and clinical practice acknowledged by such a respected institution. I am deeply grateful to Professor Xavier Golay for the nomination, and this award ultimately reflects the wider dedication of my team in translating complex physics into practical, everyday technologies like METRION. This recognition validates our commitment to advancing precision medicine and inspires us to continue our work in improving the reliability of medical imaging for healthcare across the globe."
Gold Medal Award in Healthcare
Dr Tony Palmer FIPEM
This is awarded to a member who has a substantial and sustained track record at an outstanding level of contribution to advancement of healthcare practice; related to physics and engineering applied to medicine and biology.
Dr Palmer has delivered a substantial and sustained contribution to radiotherapy practice, particularly through the development and national implementation of independent dosimetry audits for HDR brachytherapy. The continued innovation through BRAD2, alongside his international work with the IAEA, has had a clear influence on treatment quality, safety and professional practice.
"Thank you to IPEM for the Gold Medal in Healthcare Award! It’s been an absolute pleasure developing, implementing, and contributing to dosimetry auditing in radiotherapy over the last couple of decades with many colleagues and friends!
It has been fulfilling indeed to see the work I completed for my PhD on developing the first UK-wide end-to-end dosimetry audit for HDR brachytherapy (BRAD) have longevity and clinical application. Over a decade later, we updated the system for modern techniques (BRAD2, including real-time dosimetry, interstitial needle applicators, MRI-based planning, virtual structures and dose-plane histogram analysis) and have had the pleasure of seeing a second UK audit undertaken, with many colleagues assisting in development and delivery. This has also led to collaborative research projects with the IAEA, and several very enjoyable trips to Vienna to discuss and implement HDR end-to-end audits with colleagues worldwide. It was a pleasure to join the faculty of the ESTRO dosimetry audit teaching school, to present at ESTRO, AAPM and IPEM conferences, and various teaching, research and publications on film dosimetry and dosimetry audits over the years.
I’ve had the honour of chairing our regional IPEM dosimetry audit group for many years, liaising with RTTQA, NPL and IPEM. I’ve also had the pleasure of associate appointments at UCL, Surrey and Portsmouth universities, often working on quality control, dosimetry or audit-based projects, and was delighted to contribute to research led by the University of Lille, meeting with colleagues in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Implementing and undertaking interdepartmental audits provides a great excuse to work with colleagues across the UK and internationally, which is certainly rewarding and enjoyable, as well as providing the necessary external, independent assurance of dosimetric accuracy. As Head of Radiotherapy Physics and Lead Scientist for Medical Physics in Portsmouth, and as a UKAS technical assessor, I am a strong advocate of collaborative working between centres, and independent quality assurance of our clinical service delivery.
Thank you to IPEM for providing funding support to dosimetry auditing in the UK, and for the Gold Medal award!"
Gold Medal Award in Academia
Prof Guozhen Liu
Awarded to a member who has a substantial and sustained track record at an outstanding level of contribution to advancement of academic practice; related to physics and engineering applied to medicine and biology.
Prof Liu's extensive biosensor research has been clinically translated into relevant diagnostic technologies, along with her evident leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship, patents, funding success, and professional recognition.
"I am Prof Liu, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at School of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. My work sits at the interface of physics, engineering and medicine, focusing on biosensing—from CRISPR-based platforms to wearable and implantable sensors—and translating these technologies into practical, accessible diagnostic tools.
I am deeply honoured to receive the 2026 IPEM Gold Medal in Academia. To me, this award recognises sustained academic innovation and the importance of turning complex science into real-world healthcare impact. It strengthens my commitment to developing diagnostics that can reach the people who need them, and I am grateful to IPEM and the Prizes and Awards Committee for this recognition."
Spiers Prize for Outreach
This is awarded to any member who can demonstrate how they have improved education or raised awareness of Medical Physics and Engineering.
The standard of entries this year was so hight the Prizes and Awards Committee decided to award two winners.
Dr Caitlin Whybrow
Dr Whybrow has spent many years actively raising the awareness of MPCE among school pupils, students and the public. She has demonstrated an impressive and sustained commitment to introducing school, college and university students to medical physics through placements, visits and careers activities. The Prizes and Awards Committee thanked her for flying the medical physics flag for so many years and inspiring more people to join!
"I am honoured to receive this award and very grateful to my colleagues for nominating me.
I have worked in Exeter throughout my clinical career, which has enabled me to build strong links with the university, neighbouring colleges and schools, helping to promote medical physics. I particularly enjoy working with young people at the start of their careers. Their enthusiasm for applying what they are learning to something as clearly beneficial as medical physics is infectious.
Partnering with Exeter Maths School has been especially rewarding. Through this collaboration, our final-year STP trainees have supervised A-level students undertaking industry projects. Our trainees have had the opportunity to lead projects, the students have gained valuable insight into medical physics, and we have even benefited from some excellent, well-written code.
I would like to thank all the colleagues who have supported the outreach work for which I have received this award. This recognition reflects not only my own efforts but also the dedication, enthusiasm and teamwork of everyone involved."
Ryan Satnarine
Mr Satnarine has a passion for inclusive outreach. His work is widening participation for people from underrepresented backgrounds and school engagement. The Prizes and Awards Committee said his work represented an outstanding achievement in promoting and improving understanding of MPCE amongst the public.
"I am honoured to receive the Spiers' Prize for Outreach as a recognition of the work I have done to promote Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering! It's very encouraging and means a lot, as this is part of the role of a Clinical Scientist which I think is overlooked by many, and an area I am truly passionate about.
Growing up, I struggled to find professional role models who looked like me, and had quite a small range of access to opportunities and information. This is why it gives me great joy to be able to educate and influence young people, such that they are better informed early on, and to be able to serve as representation to those who feel like they may not belong.
I will continue to champion Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering as I provide more education and opportunities to the public about our great field."
Roy Ellis Patient Benefit Award
Dr. Palanivel Sathiyaraj
Awarded to any member for a specific piece of work or project that benefits patients.
The Prizes and Awards committee Dr Sathiyataj's work demonstrates patient benefit and international collaboration, with sustainable benefit.
"I am delighted and honoured to receive the Roy Ellis Patient Benefit Award 2026 from the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM).
I work as an Assistant Professor and Medical Physicist in the Department of Radiation Physics at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, India. My work is primarily focused on patient-centered care and sharing knowledge and expertise within the medical physics community.
At our institute, I have introduced and implemented specialised radiotherapy techniques, including Total Skin Electron Irradiation (TSEI) and Total Body Irradiation (TBI), and successfully treated patients using these techniques. The experience I have gained through this work has enabled me to develop expertise in these specialised procedures, which I now share with and provide guidance to other medical physicists seeking to implement them in their own centres. This includes support with commissioning, patient setup, imaging, in-vivo dosimetry, plan validation, and patient safety.
I am particularly passionate about knowledge sharing and international collaboration, as I believe that sharing expertise can help build local capacity and make advanced radiotherapy techniques more accessible to patients.
This award is a great honour and motivation for me to continue developing collaborative initiatives that strengthen local expertise, improve radiotherapy services, and ultimately contribute to better patient outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Thank you."
Team Award
Dundee Photobiology Unit
This is awarded to any team containing 3 or more individuals, where at least one team member is an IPEM member.
The Photobiology Unit has delivered sustained excellence in Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering over many decades through a unique combination of clinical service, scientific leadership, research, innovation, and patient-centred care.
The impact this multidisciplinary team has had on patients with photosensitivity disorders, as well as the wider influence on national and international practice through the development of phototherapy techniques, dosimetry standards, accredited calibration services, and photodynamic therapy programmes is very impressive.
The Prizes and Awards Committee were particularly impressed with the team's commitment to collaboration across disciplines, the integration of patient involvement into service development, and the successful translation of research into practical improvements in patient care.
"The Photobiology Unit in Dundee is a highly specialised multidisciplinary service, which fully integrates clinical medicine and scientific expertise. We are a team of dermatologists, medical physicists, clinical technologists, biochemists, administrative staff, researchers and nurses, delivering specialist clinical services, which are robustly underpinned by science.
Our purpose is to use light for diagnosis and treatment to care for and protect people. Through national diagnostic services for photosensitivity disorders, regional light-based therapies, and accredited calibration and dosimetry services, we support patients, healthcare professionals and NHS services across Scotland.
We are committed to delivering the highest quality care and believe that meaningful patient engagement, and research and innovation that translate into clinical practice, are essential for continuous improvement in our services.
We are all delighted and honoured to have received this award, which is an immensely proud achievement for everyone in the Unit and recognises the dedication, expertise and collaborative culture that enable us to make a positive difference to the lives of patients every day."
Early Careers Prize in Academia
Dr Adesola Ademiloye
This is awarded to an early career member who has made a significant contribution to advancement of academic practice; related to physics and engineering applied to medicine and biology.
Dr Ademiloye has strong and impressive academic profile since completing his PhD, with notable achievements across research, funding, supervision, teaching, leadership, and EDI. His growing national and international recognition reflects both the quality of his work and commitment to supporting the wider academic community.