London Division Awards

These awards have been organised to celebrate excellence in Mental Health Care provision in the London region.

The London Division Awards will open again next year for nominations

The London Division Awards were a fantastic success, bringing together colleagues from across the region to celebrate excellence in mental health care. We received an exceptional number of high-quality nominations, showcasing the dedication, innovation, and compassion demonstrated by individuals and teams across London. The standard of nominations was truly outstanding, making the judging process both inspiring and incredibly challenging.

Award Winners 2026

Winner

Nathan Utulu holding award prize and certificate.Nathan Utulu

Nathan has shown outstanding commitment to psychiatry, actively seeking opportunities to expand his knowledge and experience. He has volunteered with homelessness and addiction services, contributed to conferences, research projects and presentations, and achieved multiple RCPsych essay prize runner-up awards. His enthusiasm, initiative and dedication make him a highly deserving recipient of the London Division Medical Student of the Year Award

Runners up

  • Kynthia Ravikumar
  • Rabia Rehman

Winner

Dr Lauren Griffiths holding a certificate for the foundation doctor of the year and a prizeDr Lauren Griffiths

Lauren is an outstanding and compassionate doctor who demonstrates a strong commitment to psychiatry, inclusion and patient advocacy. She has undertaken British Sign Language training, contributed to autism assessment improvement projects, supported research in mindfulness and perinatal psychiatry, and helped develop a hospital-wide befriending scheme. Through her work with Embrace and dedication to underserved populations, she is a highly deserving recipient of the Foundation Doctor of the Year Award.

Runners up

  • Dr Shaan Kotecha
  • Dr Frances Weston

Winner

Martin Osugo holding a prize and certificate for winning the london division core resident doctor awardDr Martin Osugo

Martin is an exceptional psychiatrist and researcher who consistently performs above expectations, earning outstanding feedback across all training domains. Recognised for his compassionate, patient-centred approach and excellent teamwork, he is also making an international impact through pioneering research into negative symptoms, with multiple high-profile publications and prestigious awards. His clinical excellence, academic achievements and dedication make him a highly deserving recipient of the London Division Core Trainee of the Year Award.

Runners up

  • Dr Amy Legister
  • Keiran Ferrier

Winner

Dr Ivy Lim

Dr Ivy Lim is an outstanding higher trainee who delivers excellent patient care while leading in education, service improvement and recruitment. She has made significant contributions to MRCPsych teaching, trainee representation and service development, including successful quality improvement projects. A passionate advocate for psychiatry and an inspiring role model, she is highly deserving of this recognition.

Runners Up

  • Dr Chern Yao Wong
  • Dr Win Mit Thet

 

Winner

Naomi Cranmer holding an award and prize for the patient / carer award

Naomi Cranmer

Naomi is an exceptionally dedicated and compassionate support worker who goes above and beyond to ensure rough sleeping patients can access and remain engaged with care. Through her advocacy, outreach and commitment to vulnerable individuals, she has made a lasting impact on patient outcomes while serving as an outstanding role model for colleagues and champion for equitable mental health care.

Runner up

Marylee Nwoye holding certificate for runner up of patient / carer category

Marylee Nwoye

Winner

Mehtab Ghazi Rahman holding an award and certificate for winning the psychiatrist of the year at the london division awardsDr Mehtab Ghazi Rahman

Dr Rahman is an exceptional psychiatrist whose innovative leadership has transformed crisis mental healthcare across London. Through developing a pioneering emergency care model, improving access for vulnerable groups, and championing patient-centred care, he has significantly improved outcomes and service delivery. An award-winning trainer and influential leader, his work has gained national recognition and made a lasting impact on psychiatric practice.

Runners up

  • Dr Manonmani Manoharan
  • Dr Hannah Campling

Winner

Sharmin Panna holding an award and certificate for winning the SAS Doctor of the year at the london division awardsDr Sharmin Panna

Dr Sharmin Panna is an outstanding SAS doctor whose advocacy has strengthened support and recognition for SAS colleagues across North London NHS Foundation Trust. As SAS advocate, she has supported colleagues, championed career progression, improved engagement with senior leadership, and established a Trust SAS network. Alongside this, she has made significant contributions to medical education, including teaching medical students and developing a training programme for forensic physicians in Bangladesh. Her leadership, dedication and commitment to inclusion make her a highly deserving recipient of the London Division Award for SAS Doctor of the Year.

Runners up

  • Dr Theodoros Mavrogiannidis
  • Dr Seungyoun (Carolyn) Moon

Winner

Dr Manonmani Manoharan holding a certificate and award for winning the educator of the year at the london division awardsDr Manonmani Manoharan

Dr Manoharan is an exceptional psychiatric educator whose excellence in teaching and mentorship has inspired trainees across clinical, academic and community settings. Recognised for her educational impact, she contributes to undergraduate teaching, presents at national and international conferences, and publishes in peer-reviewed journals. Her commitment to widening access to mental health knowledge, including voluntary community education, has made a lasting impact on both individuals and the wider psychiatric workforce. Congratulations on receiving the London Division Award for Psychiatric Educator of the Year.

Runners up

  • Dr Amina Tareen
  • Dr Elvan Akyuz

Winner

london division awards - team of the yearGreenwich Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (LDND CAMHS)

The Greenwich Learning Disability and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Team is an exceptional, supportive, and highly collaborative team that delivers compassionate, patient-centred care. Through strong leadership, a culture of inclusion, and innovative approaches such as art and music therapy, they create a positive environment for patients, families, and trainees alike. Their commitment to advocacy, teamwork, and high-quality care makes them truly deserving of recognition.

Runners up

  • Greenwich Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Team
  • Lewisham Forensic Community Mental Health Team

Award categories

Nomination forms and criteria

This award is to recognise a medical student who has demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication during their psychiatry rotations in London. In particular, recognition to their clinical skills, understanding of mental health disorders, patient empathy and kindness, and showing a commitment to the field of psychiatry thereby raising the profile of the specialty and supporting similarly interested medical students in becoming psychiatrists.

Only nominations for medical students attending a London medical school can be considered in this category.

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

Psychiatry training in the Foundation Years provides an important opportunity to improve trainee’s knowledge, skills and attitudes towards mental health and to consider pursuing careers in psychiatry thereby providing an opportunity to attract the best trainees to the specialty.

This award is to recognise a foundation doctor who has demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication during their foundation training placements in London. In particular, recognition to their clinical skills, understanding of mental health disorders, patient empathy and kindness, and showing a commitment to the field of psychiatry thereby raising the profile of the specialty.

The person nominated should work and/or live in London.

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

This award is for resident doctors (CT1 – CT3) who have demonstrated through their clinical performance and practice that they have attained a level of achievement over and above that expected for their grade.  The person nominated should work and/or live in London and should be a member or associate (including PMPT) of the College.  

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

This award is for resident doctors (ST4 – ST6 and SpR) who have demonstrated through their clinical performance and practice that they have attained a level of achievement over and above that expected for their grade.  The person nominated should work and/or live in London and should be a member or associate of the College.  

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

Nominations can be for individuals or patient/carer groups. Nominees should work and/or live in London. Individual patients/carers or groups directly involved in the work of the College can be nominated for work they do for the College.

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

The person nominated for this award should work and/or live in London and should be a member or associate of the College. 

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

Specialty Doctors/Associate Specialists (SAS doctors) are essential components of service provision, providing a major share of the medical input in many teams. This award is to recognise an SAS doctor who has demonstrated advanced clinical skills as well as excelling in service development, teaching, research and leadership. Their contribution may be at local or regional level. The person nominated should work and/or live in London and should be a member or associate of the College.

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

This category is open to nominations for educational supervisors, clinical supervisors, college tutors, rotational training scheme organisers, heads of schools, and any psychiatrists who can demonstrate a significant contribution to the training of trainee psychiatrists, medical undergraduates or medical professionals.  The contribution may be at local or regional level. This award is only open to individuals. Nominees should work and/or live in London.

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

This award is to recognise the pivotal role that psychiatric teams play in improving or innovating psychiatric services and care in London. Teams must be located within the London Division and should contain at least one psychiatrist who is a member or associate of the College.

Please use these steps to complete your nomination:

Award Winners 2025

Winner

Aryan Arora

Aryan is a medical student at University College London. His passion for teaching and psychiatry extends across medical schools in London and beyond as his interactive teaching methods promote learning in areas not commonly explored at medical schools. Aryan’s academic interest is neuropsychiatry - during 2024, he contributed to original research and reviews; he was first author on a paper reviewing the effectiveness of antipsychotics in epileptic psychosis.  Finally in 2024, Aryan was accepted onto the MBPhD programme to commence later in 2025: he intends to focus on genetics and neuroscience. 

Runners Up

  • Emelia Pasternak-Albert
  • Shreeya Mehta

Winner

Dr Mona Jaffar-Karballai

Dr Mona Jaffar-Karballai is a Foundation doctors at Central & North West London Trust. She has demonstrated outstanding commitment during her psychiatry rotation. Colleagues consistently praise her for her empathy, kind and respectful manner, and her ability to foster collaboration across the multidisciplinary team. Mona embodies RCPsych values: as the FY1 representative, she shows Courage in her advocacy for colleagues, patients and carers, Innovation in quality improvement, Respect in every interaction, Collaboration in teamworking, Excellence in clinical duties, and a deep commitment to Learning.

Runner Up

  • Dr Daniel Morris

Winner

Dr Laura Convertino

Dr Laura Convertino is a CT2 at South London and the Maudsley. Her achievements for a CT2 are astonishing by any measure, and would make a CV of which most Consultants would be envious. Her research currently includes being an NIHR ACF with collaborations between KCL, UCL and Oxford University leading a study on levetiracetam in psychosis. Laura has a strong interest in social democracy, founding and now president of Science for Democracy. Laura is a kind, compassionate psychiatrist, with great feedback from her patients, her supervisors, and her peers. She is a future star of our profession.

Runners Up

  • Dr Felix Coid
  • Dr Katie Sampson

Winner

Dr Asilay Seker

Dr Asilay Seker is a Higher resident doctor in child and adolescent psychiatry and clinical research fellow at South London and the Maudsley. Asilay is a dedicated clinician prioritising continuity of care. Asilay maintained her clinical practice even during her full-time academic block, continuing complex cases from her prior placement, a long-term psychotherapy case and out-of-hours duties, and regularly supporting an under-resourced Croydon ADHD clinic. Asilay co-hosts the RCPsych podcast Children’s Mental Health: Listen Up!, featuring experts-by-experience, clinicians, researchers, and third-sector stakeholders to deliver accessible child psychiatry information. Asilay is an exceptional clinical academic who stands out not only as a true professional delivering above expectations, but also as an emerging leader elevating the profile of child psychiatry as a whole. 

Runners Up

  • Dr Abiram Selladurai
  • Dr Sarah Tai

Winner

Service User and Carer Advisory Group (SUCAG) - South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Service user and carer voices are seldom heard in Forensic services. Mentally-disordered offenders are often doubly stigmatised. This group has successfully harnessed lived-experience expertise to powerfully influence the quality, safety, and coproduction domains in Forensics services and beyond in 2024. Their significant achievements are reducing the stigma, humanising forensic patients and improving care and perception of mental illness. The SUCAG involves several lived experience experts with a few staff, and is fully co-led with a flattened hierarchy. This programme embodies the spirit and would be fitting to be recognised for the culture change and learning this has brought to forensic/secure services.

Runners Up

  • Daksha Samani, together with Moira and Phil Hunter(co-produced group)

 

Winner

Dr Ruth Cairns

Dr Cairns is an exceptional psychiatrist, focussed on providing brilliant clinical care and inspiring the next generation of doctors. For the past 8 years she has led the RCPsych PLAN-accredited SLAM Older Adult Liaison Psychiatry team at King’s College Hospital, serving a significantly socioeconomically deprived local community. She is a committed educator; trains KCL medical students and for the last 10 years has been the South-East London Training Programme Director for Old Age and Dual General Adult/Old Age Higher Trainees.  She is generous with her time, thoughtful in her approach and always willing to share her expertise. It is hard to imagine someone who embodies the College values more.

Runners Up  

  • Dr Bo Kim Tang
  • Dr Matthew Hartley

Winner

Dr Jhansi Seekolu

Dr Jhansi Seekolu is an SAS doctor at Cygnet Healthcare. She has demonstrated exemplary initiative and dedication in enhancing patient care and operational effectiveness. Her contributions have directly supported improvements in CQC ratings through streamlined management processes and innovative service delivery. As a mentor and leader, Dr.Seekolu has consistently supported the onboarding of new Consultants and junior doctors, offering tailored guidance on local clinical protocols and operational processes. She exemplifies the values of compassionate care, clinical excellence, and proactive leadership, making her a highly deserving candidate for this award.

Runner Up

  • Dr Shanthuru Pirethivirajan

Winner

Dr Daniel Andrews

Daniel is Director of Medical Education at West London NHS Trust. He plays a key role in supporting colleagues who are working towards accreditation as Educational and Clinical Supervisors. He has paved the way nationally by introducing and funding a Leadership & Management Tutor for higher resident doctors in North West London having recognised the significant gap. Daniel’s biggest strength is his relationship with resident drs. Many have approached him at critical points, some on the verge of leaving training altogether and through his quiet reassurance and thoughtful guidance, he has helped them regain confidence and flourish. Several of these individuals are now thriving in their careers as consultants thanks to his support. Last year, Daniel was nominated by a record number of our resident doctors for London Division Educator of the Year. This sums up just how adored he is by our resident doctors at West London NHS Trust.

Runners Up

  • Dr Michael Yousif
  • Dr Azmathulla Khan

Winner

Brent CAMHS Team

The Brent CAMHS Team is part of Central and North west London NHS Trust. Brent CAMHS has led on significant innovations shown to improve efficiency, patient experience, and staff wellbeing. These initiatives have been adopted by other teams, both within the trust and beyond. created an online interactive ADHD medication information platform with videos for families to watch. The results of this have been published online in BMJ Open Quality. Despite ongoing funding inequalities and low psychiatry capacity for the population we serve but consistently have high activity, very minimal waiting times for psychiatry review and receive lots of positive feedback from the team. Thy are enthusiastic, committed and are an example of the very best in psychiatry service.

Runners Up

  • Wandsworth Learning Disability Healthcare Team
  • CASCAID - South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust