Awards

IAN and BARBARA MCFARLANE FOUNDATION AWARD - RESEARCH GRANT 2025 - APPLICATIONS CLOSED

Drs Ian and Barbara McFarlane were a husband-and-wife team who worked on, and made important contributions to, the basic immunology of autoimmune liver disease between 1970 and 2000 at the Liver Unit King’s College Hospital.  Later, in collaboration with clinical colleagues they contributed to the establishment of what was to become the standard approach to treatment of autoimmune hepatitis with corticosteroids and azathioprine, as published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995.  Ian was to found the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group in1992 and became, until his retirement in 2006, Senior Scientist on the Liver Unit. 

An Obituary for Drs Ian and Barbara McFarlane was published in May 2022 in the Journal of Hepatology, read more > Here.

The McFarlane family now wish to make an annual grant of £8,000 to support research into liver disease in memory of Ian and Barbara.

The grant is open to all healthcare professionals who are BASL members and based in the UK and although preference may be given to research related to autoimmune liver disease any area of research into liver disease will be considered.

Applications will be reviewed, awarded and administered by the British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL).

The Awardee will be expected to attend the BASL Annual Meeting in 2025 to receive the award and also attend and provide a 15 minute presentation (allow 3 minutes for questions) at the following year’s BASL Annual Meeting (2026), in one of the oral sessions.  A photograph may be taken at the meeting and used afterwards on the BASL website, in the Newsletter and on social media platforms.

The grant is intended to fully or part fund a period of research for up to one year.  This may be a stand-alone project or part of a longer term project.

The grant is paid to the award recipients Institution.

Eligibility
The grant is open to all healthcare professionals trying to develop their career and although preference may be given to research related to autoimmune liver disease any area of research into liver disease will be considered.

• Applications are open across the BASL membership from; HCP’s in training, Nurses, Pharmacists, Scientists and AHP’s.
• Grant applicants will only be accepted from BASL/BLNA/BHPG/BAAL members who are based in the UK.

How to apply
Applicants should complete the short application form.  A letter of support from your line manager is also required, one page maximum.  Both documents should be emailed to the BASL Secretariat, admin@basl.org.uk by 09:00hrs on Wednesday 14th May 2025.  Any queries may be addressed to admin@basl.org.uk .

Application Documents:
Download the full Applicant Guide > HERE
Download an Application Form > HERE 
OR contact admin@basl.org.uk and request a word version of the application form via email.

Grant applications will only be accepted on the application form.

Closing date: 09:00hrs Wednesday 14th May 2025

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

DR FALK PHARMA, BASL, BRITISH LIVER TRUST AWARDS 2025 - APPLICATIONS OPEN!

We are delighted to share the news with members that applications for the Dr Falk Pharma, BASL, British Liver Trust Awards are now open.

Dr Falk Pharma, BASL and the British Liver Trust all agree in the power of shared understanding to improve patient outcomes. These awards recognise the need to share excellence in clinical service development and improvements that have clear benefit for people with liver disease. Such work is rarely that of one individual or discipline, thus these awards are designed to enable teams to develop an idea or continue their work.

The awards represent an opportunity to achieve national recognition as well as financial support for career progression.

Dr Falk / BASL Innovation Award
One award up to a value of £2,000 for a project proposal in start-up, which would be completed prospectively over 12-24 months.

The lead applicant will need a local mentor to support the project and will be supported to ensure the success of the project. 

The award is identified to facilitate research in an area relevant to improving either clinical service development or offering a benefit to patients with liver disease.

Dr Falk / BASL Quality and Service Improvement Awards
Two awards with a value of £1,000 to recognise work and projects in progress and / or completed within the last 3 years for which evidence of benefit can be shown. 

These awards are open to any team of healthcare professionals working in liver disease developing initiatives that have improved patient care.

Applications for both Awards are via the BASL website with a separate application form for each Award.

Click on the appropriate link below to start your application:

• Innovation Award - click here
• Quality and Service Improvement Awards – click here

Please download a copy of the Guidance for Applications document before making your application:  Download Dr Falk BASL Award Guidance for Applicants_2025.pdf

NB: these are team awards and the lead applicant for both Awards must be a BASL member.

Important dates: 
Applications Open - 14th April 2025
Applications Close - 9AM 13th June 2025
Notification of winners by 18th July 2025

Presentation of the Awards with be on Thursday 9th October during the BASL Annual Meeting in Belfast 7th – 10th October.

BASL is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of its work and is actively promoting equal opportunities to our activities, including our awards, for all our members regardless of their background, place of work or professional group. We welcome applications from all disciplines in the field of liver healthcare.

Please contact admin@basl.org.uk if you have any questions regarding the application process.

DAME SHEILA SHERLOCK RESEARCH PRIZE 2025 - APPLICATIONS OPEN - CLOSING 1ST JULY

Each year BASL presents the Dame Sheila Sherlock research prize, one of the highlights of the annual meeting. This prize is awarded annually to recognise the enormous contribution of Dame Sheila Sherlock to the development of Hepatology as a discipline in its own right.

Dame Sheila was involved in the foundation of the British Liver Club in 1961, which subsequently evolved into The British Association for the Study of the Liver (BASL). She was one of our past presidents and the first recipient of the BASL Distinguished Service Award.

Eligibility
In keeping with Dame Sheila’s enthusiasm for fostering young researchers, this eponymous research prize is awarded to young investigators without substantive posts in either medicine, science or allied health roles for their research contributions in the field of hepatology.

The winner will receive free registration to the meeting, an award and a prize of £1,000 and an invite to deliver the prize lecture and present their research at the BASL Annual Meeting.

To apply, please send one A4 sheet outlining your research and another A4 sheet listing up to 5 related publications.

NB: one person cannot win the Dame Sheila Sherlock Research Prize and Andy Burroughs Young Investigator Award in the same year. Nor can they win a second award with the same body of work as the first.

You must be a BASL member to apply.

Please send submissions to conference@basl.org.uk  before the deadline of Tuesday 1st July 2025.

BASL is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of its work. It is actively promoting equal opportunities and access for all our members regardless of their background.

ANDY BURROUGHS YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD 2025 - APPLICATIONS OPEN - CLOSING 1ST JULY

The Andy Burroughs Young Investigator Award was set up in honour of the late Professor Andrew Burroughs.

Professor Burroughs was an eminent and world renowned Professor of Hepatology and Consultant Physician/Hepatologist and among his many achievements including his wide area of expertise in cirrhosis and portal hypertension and significant contribution to liver Transplantation.

Eligibility
This prize is awarded to young investigators who have contributed to clinical or translational research related to liver transplantation who are in a training non-substantive post. This year the winner will receive free registration to the meeting, an award and a prize of £1,000 and an invite to deliver the prize lecture and present their research at the BLTG Annual Meeting.

To apply, please send one A4 sheet outlining the research and another A4 sheet listing up to 5 related publications.

NB: one person cannot win the Andy Burroughs Young Investigator Award and the Dame Sheila Sherlock Research Prize in the same year. Nor can they win a second award with the same body of work as the first.

You must be a BASL member to apply.

Please send submissions to conference@basl.org.uk before the deadline of Tuesday 1st July 2025.

BASL is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of its work. It is actively promoting equal opportunities and access for all our members regardless of their background.

BASL DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD 2025

More information to follow when available