Shaping the future of surgery.

BJS Award

The next BJS Award will be awarded in 2027. The nomination window will open in April 2026 and close in June 2026.

The Award will be given to one person and cannot be shared. The BJS Foundation and the BJS Award Committee will endeavour to give this Award every two years but retain the right not to in any given period.

A celebration of excellence in surgical science, the BJS Award recognises a discovery, innovation or scientific study that has changed clinical practice.

This international accolade will give an exceptional individual the recognition they richly deserve for the profound impact they have had on patient care.

Previous winners

The BJS Award was launched in 2023, the inaugural winner of the BJS Award was Professor Henrik Kehlet, visit the page below for more information and to access the content produced to celebrate his success.

2023

Professor Henrik Kehlet

On the 14 June 2023 the BJS Foundation were delighted to officially present Professor Henrik Kehlet with the inaugural BJS Award for his ground-breaking “Enhanced Recovery After Surgery” (ERAS) protocols, which have changed clinical practice in multiple fields of surgery and improved outcomes for patients all over the world.

The Award

The winner will be awarded:

€100,000
A medal
A framed diploma
A painting
An invitation to the Award ceremony and dinner with a guest
A BJS Academy webinar

The Award forms part of the BJS Foundation’s international outreach programme. They have therefore pledged to donate to surgical educational development and the BJS Foundation Charity Committee.

Guidelines for nominator

Nominations can be made by any individual as an expert within the surgical community
Nominations should not be made by an organisation
Self – nominations are not permitted
The nominee must be:
- A living person (no posthumous nominations)
- Hold a certificate or specialist diploma in Surgery
- Have led on a specific scientific field of surgery (humanitarian and life-time achievements will not be considered)
- Have the work supported by publications or patents
- The nominee must not have a conflict of interest with the BJS Foundation:
  - A member of the BJS Award committee
  - A member of the BJS Foundation council
  - A member of the BJS or BJS Open editorial teams
The nomination must be confidential, it must not be communicated with the nominee, any breach of confidentiality will result in being removed from the process
The next nomination period will open on 2 April 2026 and close on 21 June 2026
Nominations must be made on the online nomination form and this will be accessed via this webpage
Nominations will not be accepted in any other format
To make a nomination you will be required to submit a proposal on the nominee and up to a maximum of five reference publications (refer to the BJS Award guidelines for nominator for more information.
As the nominator, you must commit to be available and open, if necessary, for additional questions by the Award Committee (up until 31 March 2027)
The nominator also agrees to share personal details under GDPR regulations for the purposes of this Award process
The BJS Award Committee decision is final, including, if deemed appropriate, a decision not to make the Award in any given cycle
There will be no feed-back to the nominator on the decision made by BJS Award Committee

Terms and Conditions for Award Winner

The Award winner will be expected to:

Conduct an interview with the BJS Academy
Work with the BJS Foundation on an appropriate laudatio
Submit a professional headshot to the BJS Foundation
Attend the Award dinner with a guest
Deliver a webinar with the BJS Academy
Consent to include all content collected during this process to be used for promotional or educational purposes on the BJS Academy website and social media channels

Submit a nomination

NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED

Download the BJS Award guidelines to nominator.