Finalists confirmed

The Royal College of Podiatry has announced the finalists for its 2026 awards, recognising excellence across clinical practice, education, research and professional leadership. Members are also invited to vote for the Members’ Choice Award. 

More than 70 nominations were received this year, with entries assessed for eligibility before being reviewed and scored by the College’s leadership team. Winners were then selected from the finalists by the Awards Committee. 

Winners will be announced at the ceremony on Friday 12 June. 

The finalists

Alf Morris Community Award 

• Emma Price  

• Shauna Nash  

• Jane Lewis  

• Deborah Wilson  

Clinical/Academic Educator of the Year sponsored by James Hallam

• Alexander Izod  

• Ruth Barn 

• Jennifer Dickson 

• Michelle Tracey  

• Angela Thomas  

Diamond Lifetime Achievement Award 

• Debbie Sharman  

• Ivan Bristow  

• M. Tariq Khan  

• Angela Abbott  

Members’ Choice Award

• Hetal Patel  

• Khansah Imitaz  

• Christopher Ansermoz  

• Mark Waugh  

• Lauren Thompson  

Podiatry Careers Champion

• Ganesh Baliah  

• Phil Hendy  

• Simon Croucher and Florentin Baciu  

• Bindee Mosaheb  

• James William David Alvey  

Podiatry Team of the Year sponsored by The Hive

• The Homerton Healthcare Community Podiatry Team  

• South Ayrshire Podiatry Team  

• The Allied Health and Nursing Collaborative Leg Engagement (ANCLE) Café  

• The North Cumbria Podiatry Service  

• The Tower Hamlets Podiatry Team  

• NHS Fife Podiatry Tissue Viability Team  

Research and Innovation Award

• Jayne Robbie – ACT NOW  

• Michael Backhouse – BigToe Inserts  

• Kalpita Majumdar and Nadine Price – Next-gen diabetic foot care: developing a virtual MDT that connects primary and secondary teams 

• Hywel Dda Podiatry and Arrhythmia Service – Atrial Fibrillation Detection Project 

• Sarah Bradshaw – CUBED App (For Podiatrists) 

Rising Star Award sponsored by Weightmans

• Claire Atkinson  

• Samantha Smith  

Student of the Year (Pre-Registration)

• Jose Sebastiao, Homerton NHS Foot Health / University of East London  

• Arham Khalid, University of Brighton  

• Heather MacDougall, Glasgow Caledonian University  

• Lucy Booth, University of Salford  

• Sophie Widdows, Cardiff Metropolitan University  

• Xu Cao, Bournemouth University  

Volunteer of the Year

• Jill Ferrari  

• Lauren Thompson  

• Khansah Imitaz 

Members’ Choice Award: voting now open

Members can vote for the Members’ Choice Award via an online ballot, offering the opportunity to recognise a podiatrist directly.

Voting is open now and will close ahead of the awards ceremony on 12 June.

What’s different this year?

The awards programme has been restructured, with finalists now named in every category. 

The awards will now be known as The New Podiatrist Awards, reflecting the branding of the College’s digital publication. 

The ceremony will take place at the Royal Institution from 17:30 to 20:30 on Friday 12 June. Moving to an evening, theatre-style event is different from previous years, when the awards were held during the day at the House of Lords. 

Attending the awards

Tickets are now available: 

• members: £20  

• non-members: £50  

Finalists will receive up to two complimentary tickets.

Members can book at: https://events.rcpod.org.uk/

What happens next?

Members can cast their vote for the Members’ Choice Award ahead of the ceremony.

Winners will be announced at the Royal Institution on Friday 12 June.

Links and references

Book your ticket to the Royal College of Podiatry awards 2026 

Find out more about the awards on the Royal College of Podiatry website