Each year, The Elphinstone Review presents the Best Paper Award to the author whose submission the editorial board believes features an original and engaging topic. The selected paper must demonstrate excellence in critical analysis, proper grammar, effective use of sources, and clarity for its intended audience. This year, we are thrilled to announce that the winner of this prestigious award is Topaz Manneh, a Pharmacology student at the University of Aberdeen who is currently undertaking a year in industry at GSK’s headquarters in London, working in Global Hepatology Medical Affairs. Their academic interests span population health sciences, social determinants of health, and global health policy, with a broader focus on how science, technology, and structural factors shape health outcomes. They are particularly committed to patient advocacy and the integration of community perspectives into biomedical research.
Topaz’s winning article, “The Postcolonial Condition: Empire, Health, and Enduring Global Inequities”, is a significant contribution to our latest edition. It provides a profound understanding of the postcolonial condition and its enduring impact on global health. Here’s a quick glimpse with the abstract below:
This paper examines the deep-rooted health disparities forged through centuries of colonial influence, revealing how systems of exploitation, racial hierarchy, and cultural erasure have embedded structural violence into the foundations of global health. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and global case studies, the study uncovers how colonial systems such as economic extraction, social marginalisation, and the suppression of Indigenous knowledge have produced patterns of illness and inequity that persist today. It further critiques the role of international health institutions and policies that, despite their development agendas, often reproduce neocolonial dynamics. In response, the study proposes strategies for inclusive reform, grounded in cultural competency, community engagement, and restorative justice, to rectify the injustices embedded in the colonial history of global health.