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Prize presentation
Join us as the Finalists for the 2026 Louis Barnett Prize will present their research on Thursday 2 July at 7pm NZST where the winner of this prestigious award will also be announced.
Event details are below:
Date: Thursday, 2 July
Time: 7pm NZ time
Location: Online
Cost: Free
CPD hours available: Two
CPD activity type: Education
Register now
The 2027 Prize will be held in Dunedin during the Aotearoa New Zealand centenary celebrations in February 2027 (exact date TBC). Entries to open August 2026.
About Sir Louis Barnett CMG
Sir Louis was born in Wellington and was the first New Zealander to gain a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He returned to Aotearoa New Zealand to a lectureship at Otago Medical School and in 1909 was appointed professor of surgery at Otago. He was awarded the CMG for his services in WWI and was knighted in 1927 after his retirement from the Chair of Surgery.
In the 1920s Sir Louis was instrumental in the formation of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (initially known as the College of Surgeons in Australasia) and in 1927, at the College’s first meeting which was held in Dunedin, he was elected the first Vice-President. He later became President of this College from 1937 – 1939.
A pioneer in hydatid’s research, Sir Louis continued this work after his retirement from the Otago Medical School. He was influential in the establishment of the College’s hydatid register and was also prominent in the British Empire Cancer Campaign. Sir Louis endowed the Ralph Barnett Chair in Surgery at Otago Medical School, in memory of his son who was killed in WWI.