IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize

This Trainee Prize is awarded for the best presentation by an IMSANZ Trainee Member at the New Zealand IMSANZ Meeting.

We are very grateful to Dr Neil De Zoysa and family for generously donating funds to support the IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize. The De Zoysa family have a demonstrated commitment to medical education in their home country of Sri Lanka, having donated the land for the Ceylon Medical College in the 1830s. The tradition of donation has continued through the current generation. In 1967 the family donated the house and premises for the Sri Lankan Medical Association and Library and the Sri Lanka College of Physicians. In 1997, IMSANZ were fortunate to receive a donation from Dr De Zoysa in support of research and medical education. The contributions have continued and in 2013 we received further funding. To date the generosity of the de Zoysa family to IMSANZ has reached $20,000 for which we are very grateful. In some instances, a runner-up Prize has been awarded by the judges as the standard of presentations has risen over the years.

For further details on the application process for this Prize, please contact IMSANZ.

Previous Winners of the IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize

2023 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Masterton

Congratulations to Dr Andea Prouse who won the 2023 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize!

Dr Prouse presented her research at the IMSANZ NZ 23 Conference in Masterton - "COPD Criteria-Led Discharge (CLD) Impacts On Inpatient COPD Management".

This prize was awarded at the IMSANZ NZ Conference in Masterton, March 2023.

Pictured right: Dr Prouse presenting at the IMSANZ 2023 NZ Conference.

2022 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Te Anau

Congratulations to Dr Edward Palmer of Nelson Marlborough DHB, who won the 2022 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize!

Dr Palmer presented research at the IMSANZ NZ 22 Conference in Te Anau - "Sleep Well A Quality Improvement Project".

Pictured Right: Dr Palmer receiving his award, as presented by Dr Michelle Downie

2021 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting,Rotorua

Congratulations to Dr Henna Ansari of Middlemore Hospital NZ, who won the 2021 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize!

Henna presented her research at the IMSANZ NZ 21 Conference in Rotorua - "Antibiotic Use In Palliative Care Patients: A Retrospective Observational Study In Prevalence And Effectiveness of Antibiotic Use".

This prize was awarded at the IMSANZ NZ Conference in Rotorua, March 2021.

Pictured right: Dr Ansari receiving her award, as presented by Dr Chris Cameron

2020 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting,Christchurch

Congratulations to the winner of the 2020 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize, Dr Kate O'Mahony. This prize was awarded at the IMSANZ NZ Conference in Christchurch, February 2020.

Pictured right: Dr Mahony receiving her award, as presented by Dr Robyn Toomath

2019 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Auckland

Congratulations to the winner of the 2019 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize, Dr Lauren Lim. This prize was awarded at the IMSANZ NZ Conference in Auckland, March 2019.

Pictured right: Dr Lim receiving her award, as presented by Dr Neil De Zoysa, and conference convenor Dr Dorothy Dinesh

2018 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Tauranga

Congratulations to the winner of the 2018 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize, Dr Matt Wheeler. This prize was awarded at the IMSANZ NZ Conference in Tauranga, March 2018.

Pictured right: Dr Wheeler receiving his award

2017 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Wellington

Congratulations to the winner of the 2017 IMSANZ De Zoysa Trainee Prize, Dr Philip Daniel

Pictured right: Dr Daniel receiving his award

Congratulations also to the 2017 runner-up Dr Jordan Fuzi

Pictured: Dr Fuzi receiving his award

2016 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Blenheim

The winner of the De Zoysa Prize at the NZ Branch meeting, held in March 2016 was Dr Clare Russell for her retrospective analysis of PEG placement.

Pictured right: Dr Clare Russell receiving her award

The Runner-up of the De Zoysa Prize at the NZ Branch meeting, held in March 2016 was Dr Sean Lance

Pictured right: Dr Sean Lance receiving his award

2015 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Napier

The winner of the De Zoysa Prize at the NZ Branch meeting, held in March 2015 was Dr Sarah Sanderson, Nelson Marlborough DHB; "Audit of Oxygen Prescribing in Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (NMDHB)".

Pictured right: Dr Sarah Sanderson presenting at the conference, and with Dr John Gommans and Professor Phillippa Poole presenting the award.

2014 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Paihia

The winner of the De Zoysa Prize at the NZ Branch meeting, held in March 2014, was Dr Chinthaka Samaranayake for his presentation "Cross Sectional Study on Sleep Disorders and Associated Depression, Anxiety and Substance Use Among Medical and Nursing Students in Auckland".

Pictured right, Dr Chinthaka Samaranayake with Professor Phillippa Poole receiving his award.

Each year the standard of the presentations gets higher, and this year our judges decided to award a runner-up prize to Dr Shengyang Liao for his presentation "Incidence of VTE in Different Ethnic Groups".
    
Pictured right, Dr Shengyang Liao with Professor Phillippa Poole receiving his award.

2013 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Mt Ruapehu

The winner of the De Zoysa Prize at the NZ Branch meeting, held in March 2013, was Dr Katie Thorne for her presentation "Adherence and Outcomes of Patients prescribed Dabigatran -Pradaxa".

The IMSANZ President, Dr John Gommans presented this award alongside Dr Neil De Zoysa and Past President of IMSANZ Associate Professor Phillippa Poole

Pictured right, 2013 award winner Dr Katie Thorne

 

2012 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Hanmer Springs

The winner of the De Zoysa Award was Emma Losco for her presentation "Clostridium Difficile Diarrhoea is a Marker of Increased Mortality Amongst Hospital Inpatients".

2011 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Taranaki

The winner of the De Zoysa Award was David Tripp for his presentation "Did an Acute Medical Assessment Unit Improve the Assessment and Treatment of Community Acquired Pneumonia – a Retrospective Audit"
Pictured right: IMSANZ President Dr John Gommans awarding the prize to Dr David Tripp

2009 - Combined RACP, IMSANZ, ANZSGM, ANZSPM meeting, AUCKLAND

The winner of the De Zoysa Award was Dr Nelson Loh from Perth, presenting on High sensitivity troponin-T as a marker of myocardial ischaemia during myocardial stress testing.

2009 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Wellington

Congratulations go to Dr James Irwin (Waikato, previously Wellington) for winning the De Zoysa Young Investigator Award for his paper entitled ‘Disease incidence and treatment patterns of myelodysplasia in the Wellington Region from 2002 -2007’.

Pictured left to right: James Irwin, Bruce King, Phillippa Poole & Alasdair Macdonald

 

2008 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Mount Maunganui

There were six presentations ranging between audits, case presentations, and formal research . Topics included "Broken Heart" syndrome, not well known by its eponym "Takosubu's Cardiomyopathy" by many of the older members of the audience, and work from Christchurch which may become known in the future as "Coffee Heart".

The De Zoysa prize was jointly awarded to a first year house physician from Wellington, Ryan Walkin, and Philip Robinson, an Advanced Trainee also from Wellington. Congratulations to them both.

 

2007 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Waiheke

The De Zoysa Young Investigator Award was a close competition, with registrars presenting original and relevant research. Joanne Holden presented resuscitative directives among the elderly, Golam Khadem evaluated 700 patients from Taranaki with iron deficiency anaemia but Ingrid Hutton won the $500 prize with her chest drain teaching programme research.

2006 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Queenstown

The IMSANZ De Zoysa Prize for best IMSANZ Advanced Trainee Presentation went to Stephen Dee for his presentation on the use of a Morbidity and Mortality Review as a quality improvement tool at Hutt Hospital.
Pictured right: Phillippa Poole, Stephen Dee and Neil De Zoysa

   

2004 - joint RACP/IMSANZ /TSANZ/ ASID meeting, Christchurch

The winner of the IMSANZ De Zoysa Prize received $500.

2003 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Hawkes Bay

Graeme Dickson took the Young Investigators prize of $500 plus a $2000 sponsorship to take his presentation to the RACP/IMSANZ Hobart Meeting, for a presentation on the “Impact of Late Referral on Patients receiving Renal Replacement Therapy”, reporting data on these patients from the Waikato Renal Unit.

2002 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Akaroa

The winner of the IMSANZ De Zoysa Award was Dr Seshasayee Narasimhan.

2001 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Hunua

The advanced trainee presentations were of a very high standard with Tristram Ingham deservedly taking first prize for his audit on community acquired pneumonia.

2000 - IMSANZ New Zealand Meeting, Mt Maunganui

The winner of the IMSANZ De Zoysa Award was Dr Sue Wright. Sue won the $500 prize and was awarded a $2000 travel grant to present at the IMSANZ Adelaide meeting in May 2000.