Lancaster University Emeritus Professor Colin Ockleford has been awarded the Harold Ellis Prize by The Royal College of Surgeons of England for his “exceptional” work as an examiner.

At the College’s annual Court of Examiners Day, he was presented with the prestigious prize by the chairman of the Court Yasser Mohsen and the President of the College Tim Mitchell. The award is a Medal awarded to a basic Sciences Examiner who has demonstrated “exceptional commitment and contribution” over the past two years.

He said: “It was a great pleasure to receive this award. I have really enjoyed my time on the Court of Examiners carrying out a very worthwhile role in “retirement” - particularly since Covid, helping to clear the exams backlog, when many young doctor’s career plans took a back seat, has been rewarding. The institutional effort that this has taken is a fine example of the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s professional, caring and responsive qualities. Its expanding international role at this time is a reflection of the high regard its qualifications are held in on the world stage.”

Professor Ockleford was the Foundation Professor in Human Anatomy and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre at Lancaster University’s Medical School from 2006 until 2013.

In 2011 he was elected to the Court of Examiners by The Royal College of Surgeons of England to examine basic sciences for the gateway exam for qualified doctors wishing to pursue a career in surgery. The Membership of The Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) is an intercollegiate exam for surgical trainees who wish to become a member of one of the four surgical royal colleges in the UK and Ireland. He has since examined in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Hyderabad and Kuala Lumpur.

Professor Ockleford has taught Anatomy since 1976 at undergraduate level to medical students and later to postgraduates preparing for FRCS, MRCS and FRCOG entry pathway exams. He has externally examined BSc, Masters, PhD and DSc theses and has been an external examiner at several universities including Cambridge, University College London, Sheffield, Liverpool and Leeds.

He was the founder education chairman of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland where he set up an International Anatomical Societies summer school at Oxford. He has co-authored papers by the Anatomical Society that have informed accepted core curricula for both Anatomy and Embryology medical undergraduates nationwide.

He was trained as a Higher Education Teaching Quality Assessments (TQA) assessor and took part in the first series of teaching and learning reviews for the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) Quality Assurance Agency. He co-authored a national overview for TQA in English Medical Schools for Physiology and Anatomy.

In 2006 he was appointed as an independent scientific member of the Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) ministerial advisory committee – the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) as well as the Medical and Toxicological Panel of the Pesticides Safety Directorate and two European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panels. He also worked on the Pesticides Adverse Health Effects Working Group (PAHES) and was appointed to the Poisons Board at the Home Office.

He is a Fellow of the Anatomical Society and the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Microscopical Society, the Academy of Medical Educators and a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.