Alison Kemp, MD and Sabine Maguire, MD

The Ray E. Helfer Society Awards Drs. Alison Kemp and Sabine Maguire its Highest Honor

Alison Kemp, MD, Professor, Cardiff University and Sabine Maguire, MD, Senior Lecturer in Child Health, Cardiff Medical School, are co-recipients of the 2019 Ray E. Helfer Award, which was presented in April at the organization’s Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. The award is presented annually to a member in recognition of his or her distinguished contributions in the field.

Looking over the previous Helfer Award winners reveals a catalog of luminaries, inspirations, teachers, advocates, scientists and, for many of us, friends. The 2019 recipients fit all of these descriptions. Their work has elevated the evaluation of child abuse through its advance of evidence-based medicine and incisive logical argument. Both have taught how to do better research, to think more clearly, to advance arguments more persuasively, and to support colleagues more effectively. Kemp and Maguire have advocated for a higher standard of practice, and advanced that standard through their own original research and a meticulous approach to synthesis of the available literature.

With so many notable contributors to the field, choosing a recipient is often difficult. And, while individually unique, their work overlaps to a significant degree.

Sabine recently retired as a senior lecturer at Cardiff University in 2016, yet her CV features nine papers since then. Alison’s first child abuse manuscript was published in 1994, and as of September 2018 she has eight manuscripts on her CV from 2018. The reach and significance of Alison, Sabine and the Welsh Study Group is significant.

Both Kemp and Maguire have been regular, valuable participants in the society and its meetings. Over the years, they have presented some of their original works and participated on educational panels about improving research and careers.