Medals & Awards

Every year we award a number of medals and awards in recognition of excellence. The Trustees of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene award medals yearly to pioneers in global health and tropical medicine.

Chalmers Medal

The Chalmers Medal is awarded by RSTMH every year and recognises researchers in tropical medicine or global health who demonstrate evidence of mentoring and professional development of junior investigators, and other forms of capacity building.

Emerging Leaders Award

The Emerging Leaders Award is given out by RSTMH each year to recognise those early in their careers who have made a significant contribution to leadership, including mentorship and capacity building of others.

Sir Patrick Manson Medal

The Sir Patrick Manson Medal is RSTMH’s highest mark of distinction and is awarded to the living person whose contribution to any branch of tropical medicine or hygiene is considered by the Board of Trustees to be most deserving. It is awarded every three years and is for senior experts in their field.

Hemingway Award

The Hemingway Award is a joint award between RSTMH and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and recognises successful delivery or encouragement of translational science. It is awarded every two years and is for people at any career stage.

RSTMH Student Essay Competition

RSTMH aims to support our members, Fellows and wider networks from the very start of their Careers. Our Student Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting topics of global health and tropical medicine each year.

The 2025 Student Essay Competition is now closed.

Presidents’ Fund

The Presidents’ Fund aims to support RSTMH membership for three years for residents of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) who are unable to renew their membership or join due to financial difficulties.

Donald Mackay Medal

The Donald Mackay Medal is for outstanding work in tropical medicine and health, especially relating to improvements in the health of rural or urban workers in the tropics. The Medal is joint between RSTMH and the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Sir Rickard Christophers Medal

The Sir Rickard Christophers Medal is awarded triennially for work in tropical medicine and hygiene in its broadest sense and in particular for practical and field applications.

George Macdonald Medal

Nominations next open in 2026

This triennial joint award with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine recognises outstanding research leading to improvement of health in the tropics.

"Global Challenges in Health" – RSTMH and ECTMIH 2021 photo contest

Submissions for the photo contest are now closed.

Submit your images to the "Global Challenges in Health: Your stories from around the world" – a photo contest from RSTMH and ECTMIH 2021.

National Clinical Impact Awards

The Clinical Impact Awards are prestigious awards granted to NHS consultant doctors, dentists and academic GPs via an annual competition and seek to recognise the unique and specialised role they play and the impact of their work on the NHS at a national level.

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