The Anatomy team at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) has won a Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence in the annual Advance HE awards – national awards that celebrate the impact of teaching in the UK higher education sector.
The Anatomy team’s award celebrates collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning. The last few years have seen the team, led by Professor Claire Smith, contribute to the Brighton and Hove community, and engage in bold public education projects. The award also recognises the team’s co-creation of Channel 4’s My Dead Body dissection documentary, which aired in December last year and was shortlisted for a National Television Award.
Professor Claire Smith, BSMS and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education and Innovation) at the University of Sussex, said: “This award celebrates our incredible team of anatomists, clinicians, support colleagues, technical experts and professional service staff. We wanted to break down the walls of BSMS to deliver high quality anatomy education both within the building and outside it too.
“The thread that binds everyone on this journey is the desire to educate individuals, to ensure safe medical practice, and to use the outstanding generosity of donors to make a difference to millions.”
The My Dead Body documentary was filmed at BSMS in 2022.
In 2020, the Anatomy department received its first ever whole body donor who gave permission for her body to be dissected for ‘public display’. She was Toni Crews, a mother in her 30s from Kent who died from a rare form of cancer and had campaigned to raise awareness of her illness. To ensure her donation could benefit the most people, with Toni’s permission, the anatomy team delivered dissection workshops for 800 students, made long-lasting learning resources, and co-created the bold Channel 4 documentary My Dead Body, which told Toni’s story, and broadcasted elements of the dissection workshops. It was the first time such a procedure had taken place on national television.
At the height of the Covid pandemic, alongside teaching, the anatomy team supported local NHS services by managing an extra mortuary on the University of Sussex site, caring for more than 400 deceased individuals.
Also announced in the Advance HE awards is Tab Betts, a lecturer from the University of Sussex’s School of Education and Social Work, who has won a National Teaching Fellowship.
Professor Sasha Roseneil, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex, said: “I extend my warm congratulations to Professor Claire Smith and her team, and to Tab Betts for these prestigious Advance HE awards, which rightly recognise their inspirational and pioneering work. The awards spotlight examples of sector-leading innovation in teaching, and represent a beacon of aspiration for all of us who are committed to excellence in education.”
The award will be presented to the Anatomy team during an awards ceremony on 28 September 2023.