Gimbernat
Surgical Association
Awards Ceremonies
SEPTEMBER 2022
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
Dr. Luís Grande was awarded the Pere Virgili Award by de Catalan Surgical Society this last 28th of September.
The award is a prestigious offering celebrated annually by the Catalan Surgical Society recognizing the hard work of one's professional career. Dr. Grande has been in service as the leader of the General Surgery Service of the Hospital del Mar since 2002 and has also been the Director of Teaching and Director of Innovation of the institution. We must note that he is also a member of the American College of Surgeons and the European Surgical Association. He has received numerous awards such as the Narcís Monturiol Medal for scientific and technological merit from the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Grazzi Award from the International Society of Surgery and the Corachan Award from the Catalan Society of Surgery.
Dr. Ronan O’Connell was awarded the Antoni Gimbernat award.
Professor O’Connell is Emeritus Professor of Surgery and honorary Consultant Surgeon at St Vincent's University Hospital Dublin. His work is widely recognised concerning the inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and pelvic floor physiology. Professor O'Connell has received honorary fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (2002), the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2014) and England (2019) and the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong (2019).
OCTOBER 2021
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
On the last month of October, our society members were invited to the Societat Catalana de Cirurgia (SCC) academical year inauguration. The ceremony was held in the historic Gimbernat anatomical amphitheatre, located on Santa Creu Hospital.
After a warm welcome by Dr Sebastian Biondo, the President of the SCC, and the delivery of research grants to several surgeons, including Dr. Marta Pascual, one of Hospital del Mar General and Digestive Surgery Consultants.
This year, and due to the pandemic restrictions of 2020, both awards from 2020 and 2021 were delivered. The Virgili award 2020 was granted to Prof. Eduardo García-Granero, and the Virgili award 2021 was granted to Dr. Joan Fabregat.
The Gimbernat award 2020 was granted to Prof. John Reynolds, member of our Honorary Committee and one of the surgeons who collaborates with our society in the Erasmus and Clerkships programs from St James Hospital (Dublin, Republic of Ireland). The Gimbernat award 2021 was granted to Prof. René Adams.
At the end of the ceremony, the new president, Dr. Rosa Jorba, took possession of her charge.
As every year, it has been a privilege to assist to this event. We hope to see you again next year!
OCT 17th
2019
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
On thursday 17th of October our society was invited to the Societat Catalana de Cirurgia academical year inauguration. The ceremony was held in the beautiful and historic Gimbernat amphitheatre, located on Santa Creu Hospital.
Sebastian Biondo, president of the SCC, started with a little review of the activities done this whole year. Afterwards, the Manuel Corachan awards were handed. Scholarships to have an intermediate stay in surgical services in hospitals both national and international were also announced.
This year, the Virgili award was granted to Dr. Salvador Navarro Soto, whose passionate speech excited all those present, highlighting the importance of the participation and involvement of young surgeons in the society and in medicine in general.
The Gimbernat award was granted to Dr Julio García Aguilar. He works in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York. On his speech, we learnt the importance of hard work and serendipity.
It has been a pleasure to assist to this outstanding event that SCC organises every year.
Thank you so much from all the Gimbernat Surgical Society members!
OCT 18th
2018
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
Last Thursday 18th of October our society was invited to the Societat Catalana de Cirurgia academical year inauguration. Sebastian Biondo, president of the SCC, started with a little review of the activities done this whole year. Afterwards, the secretary handed the diploma to the new members of the Society as well as to the winners of the Manuel Corachán awards: including one to the best clinical case and one to the best oral presentation. Scholarships to have an intermediate stay in surgical services in hospitals both national and international were also announced.
This year, the Virgili award was granted to the valencian surgeon José Vicente Roig Vila. He founded the European Society of Coloproctology. In his speech he remarked how important is team working as well as developing our identity as surgeons.
The Gimbernat award was granted to the Dutch surgeon Jan van Lanschot, member of our Honorary Committee. He works in the Erasmus Medical Rotterdam University and he is also an excellent professor.
It has been a pleasure to assist to this outstanding event that SCC organises every year. Thank you so much from all the Gimbernat Surgical Society members.
OCT 5th
2017
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
On Thursday 5th October, the Societat Catalana de Cirurgia (SCC) invited our association to the opening of the new academic course. The ceremony was held in the beautiful and historic Gimbernat amphitheatre, located on Santa Creu Hospital. President Salvador Navarro Soto, after the opening of the session, proceeded to give out the Cocharan awards as well as some grants.
The first award was given to ORALEV study, for the best oral communication; the second one to the best clinical case, “Esophageal Perforation due to Foreign Body: therapeutic approach”. The grants were for residents and research projects.
Subsequently, the session continued to award the Virgili i Gimbernat distinctions. The Virgili award was adjudicated to Dr. Joan Sala Pedrós, a surgeon who was invited to the fifth anniversary of our association and gave a speech about Antoni de Gimbernat. This year, his discussion was made of historical, medical and humanistic components. We want to remark the upraising of three human values: Trueness, beauty and goodness. These would be the objective of science, ethics and art, respectively. He created his own motto: Believe in people, evaluate the facts and express judgments of the merits, faults, value, or truth of ideas.
The Gimbernat award was received by Dr. Demetrios Demetriades, professor of University of Southern California (USC) of Los Angeles and worldwide referent for surgical attention of polytrauma patients, working in one of the most distinguished centres of USA. His speech started on how unpredictable his life had been, even though he had some clear carefully crafted plans. He wanted to specialize in General Surgery in Athens and then settle and practice surgery in a small Greek island, and ended up in the largest trauma center in California and one of the largest in the USA. He concludes his speech putting emphazising on the importance of question everything in order to improve and never resign. “Challenge surgical practices not based on solid science and be prepared to challenge and change what you learned during your training”.
Last but not least, as the closing of the opening ceremony, Dr. Sebastian Biondo became the new president of the Societat Catalana de Cirurgia.
We really appreciate the invitation to such an important ceremony in your annual calendar. It was a great honor and privilege for our association, to take part in this event.
OCT 15th
2016
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
Every October the Catalonian Surgical Society gathers its members in order to deliver the Gimbernat and Virgili Awards in the ancient Royal Academy of Medicine. For the 5th year in a row, the Gimbernat Surgical Students Association was invited to attend the Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony.
Like every year, the Catalonian Surgical Society hosted the ceremony in the ancient Royal Academy of Medicine. The president of the Catalonian Surgical Society, Dr. Salvador Navarro Soto, opened the ceremony by welcoming the audience and highlighting the importance of the participation and involvement of young surgeons in the society. The speech was followed with the announcement of the new members and ended with the delivery of the Virgili and Gimbernat awards.
The Virgili award was delivered to Dr. Carles Masdevall and the winner of the Gimbernat award is Dr. Jacques Himpens
At the end of the ceremony the directive board members had the pleasure of meeting both award winners and exchange a few words with them.
OCT
15th
2015
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
For the 4th year in a row, the Gimbernat Surgical Students Association was invited to attend the Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony. Like every year, the Catalonian Surgical Society hosted the ceremony in the ancient Royal Academy of Medicine.
The president of the Catalonian Surgical Society, Dr. Salvador Navarro Soto, opened the ceremony by welcoming the audience and highlighting the importance of the participation and involvement of young surgeons in the society.
After the opening speech, the president announced the renovation of the directive board during the present month and acknowledged the new members.
The Virgili award was then delivered to Professor José Manuel Sánchez Ortega, a general surgeon specialized in gastroesophageal surgery. During his speech, the Professor mentioned the hospitals where he worked during his career in Barcelona (Hospital de Sant Pau, Hospital de Bellvitge, Hospital de la Esperanza and Hospital del Mar) and took the opportunity to thank his master and role model, Professor Sitges Creus. Professor Ortega ended his speech with a reflection of how much surgery evolved until the present time and what its future may hold.
The winner of the Gimbernat award is Dr. Mark Orringer, university professor of thoracic surgery at the University of Michigan. The Professor explained the audience his career's course: he completed his general and thoracic surgery residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and, during that time, he also spent six months in England under the mentorship of Mr. Ronald Belsey. It was during his stay in England that he was exposed to the surgical treatment of esophageal disease, area in which he would become a pioneer. He revolutionized the esophageal surgical treatment by developing both the transhiatal esophagectomy without thoracotomy and the combined Collis-Nissen hiatal hernia repair. He ended his speech with a thought: it was by standing in the shoulders of giants, like Mr. Ronald Belsey, that he was able to make his contribution to surgery and get where he is today.
At the end of the ceremony the directive board members had the pleasure of meeting both award winners and exchange a few words with them.
OCT
16th
2014
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
Every October the Catalonian Surgical Society gathers its members in order to deliver the Gimbernat and Virgili Awards in the ancient Royal Academy of Medicine. This is the third year in which the Gimbernat Surgical Students Association is invited to assist.
Like every year, prestigious and eminent surgeons and new surgeons reunite and the ceremony begins. First of all, the president of Catalonian Surgical Society Dr. Salvador Navarro Soto welcomed the audience and performed a speech in order to open this first session of the Society.
This speech was followed by the acknowledgement of the new members, and ended with the delivery of the Gimbernat and Virgili awards, recieved by:
Gimbernat Award
Profesor Göran Akerström
Department of Surgical Sciences. Endocrine Surgery
Upsala University, Sweden
Virgili Award
Professor Antoni Sitges Serra
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Hospital Universitari del Mar
Both were recognized by their experience in endocrine surgery
OCT
17th
2013
Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony
In October 17th, the Gimbernat and Virgili awards ceremony was performed at the Gimbernat Hall at the Medicine Royal Academy of Catalonia. Dr. Laureà Fernández-Cruz earned the Virgili award and Dr. Claudio Bassi the Gimbernat award, both for their national and international transcendence in surgery.
Dr. Juan Jose Sancho Inserser also won an award for his dedication teaching.
OCT
17th
2012
Virgili-Gimbernat awards 2012
Some of the association members had the honor to attend to the inauguration ceremony of the Catalonian Surgical Society new course. The event took place in the Gimbernat Room of the old Surgery College in Santa Creu Hospital, which is the present head office of the Medicine Royal Academy of Catalonia.
As an aknowlegment of their trajectories in the world of surgery, Dr. Cristóbal Pera won this year's Virgili award and Dr. Miguel Cuesta Ángel Valentín received the Gimbernat award.