George Macdonald Medal

The George Macdonald Medal is joint medal between RSTMH and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). It recognises outstanding individuals who have conducted research leading to significant improvements of health in the tropics. It is awarded every three years, and is for those senior in their careers.

The medal is next open in 2026.

Eligibility and nominations

• Nominations are open every three years and next opens in 2026.
• Nominees should have conducted outstanding research leading to improvement of health in the tropics
• The Medal is a joint award between RSTMH and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
• LSHTM Council and the RSTMH Trustees propose the names of candidates and a committee composed of the Dean of LSHTM, two members of LSHTM Council and two RSTMH Trustees (who are not employees of LSHTM) nominate from these proposals a candidate for the award. LSHTM Council and RSTMH Trustees then ratify this nomination.

2023 George Macdonald Medal recipients: Professor Arjen Dondorp and Professor Christine Stabell Benn

The 2023 George Macdonald Medal had two winners. Professor Arjen Dondorp won the award, nominated by Professor Olugbenga Mokuolu. Professor Christine Stabell Benn also won, nominated by Professor Sir Alimuddin Zumla.

Professor Arjen Dondorp trained as an infectious diseases and intensive care physician in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Since 2000 he has been based in Bangkok, Thailand, as the deputy director of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit. He is a Professor of Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Professor of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University in Bangkok and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the U.K.

“I am very honoured to receive the RSTMH George MacDonald Medal 2023. This honour should be shared with many of my wonderful colleagues all over the globe. I hope my work will continue to contribute to reducing human suffering from malaria and critical illness in resource limited settings.”

 

Professor Arjen Dondorp

Christine Stabell Benn, MD, PhD, DMSc, MAE, has worked at the Bandim Health Project in Guinea-Bissau since 1993. Dr. Benn holds a position as a Professor of Global Health at University of Southern Denmark. She is also a Chair at the Danish Institute for Advanced Study.

“I am very happy and honoured to be awarded the George Macdonald Medal. There are many assumptions about which interventions work in low- and middle-income countries and many assumptions about how the interventions work. My group has made it a top priority to challenge these assumptions in global health, by assessing the overall health effects of interventions in real life settings. The medal is a great encouragement to continue this line of curiosity-driven research.”

 

Christine Stabell Benn

History and prize

Professor George Macdonald

The George Macdonald Medal was first awarded in 1972 in honour of Dr George Macdonald, Professor of Tropical Hygiene at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Director of the Ross Institute, who died on 10 December 1967.

A dominant figure in the field of tropical public health and one of the world's great authorities of malariology, George Macdonald distinguished himself by his work on quantitative analysis of the transmission and eradication of vector-borne tropical diseases.

His personality combined great intellectual power, fearless integrity, tremendous energy and an understanding of human problems.

In October 1968, the Dean of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, launched an appeal for an endowment of a permanent memorial to Professor Macdonald in the form of a medal to be awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to tropical hygiene. Many of Professor Macdonald's friends and colleagues all over the world responded generously to this appeal.

The medal bears on its obverse a likeness of Professor Macdonald with the inscription "Professor George Macdonald 1903-67" and on the reverse the words "For services to tropical hygiene".