Raising awareness of head and neck cancer and the latest treatments for these conditions was the theme of the addresses at the 83rd Biological Society Inaugural Meeting which took place in the Albert Lecture Theatre in RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) on Friday, 29 January 2016.

The Biological Society is the oldest student society in RCSI and the event was organised by students from the Biological Society Committee with assistance from the RCSI Student Services team.

Following his welcome address, outgoing Biological Society President Professor Peter Conlon handed over the chain of office to Professor James Paul O'Neill, Professor of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at RCSI, officially marking the commencement of his term as President of the Society. Professor O'Neill is a graduate of RCSI (Medicine, Class of 2001) and has a long association with the Society, having attended his first BioSoc meeting as a student in the late 1990s. In his Presidential Address, Professor O'Neill outlined developments in head and neck cancer treatment from an oncological perspective, and the importance of raising awareness amongst patients and healthcare professionals. Professor O'Neill also emphasised the importance of outpatient, inpatient and theatre access to maintain contemporary levels of head and neck oncological care.

Continuing on the theme of the meeting, guest speaker, Mr Barry O'Sullivan, Consultant Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, delivered the Widdess Lecture Address entitled: ‘Head and Neck Cancer Surgery in 2016 - Macroscopic removal and Microscopic reconstruction'. Mr O'Sullivan said: "Promoting head and neck cancer awareness is the number one priority for ensuring early diagnosis and good patient outcomes. In 2016, we now have cutting-edge microvascular surgical techniques which ensure that these cancers can be removed in their entirely whilst enabling us to perform reconstruction which restores form and function for the patient."

A number of College medals were presented to students and recent graduates at the meeting including the RCSI Council Medal joint winners Doireann Eves and Senan O'Connell, (Senior Case Competition); Doireann Eves, was also awarded the Denis Gill Medal for Paediatrics; Scott Moses, recipient of the Alan Browne Medal for Obstetrics and Gynaecology; and Daniel Ball and Jeffrey Nafash, Psychiatry Case Competition joint winners. Recipient of the Dr Arthur Stephen ffrench-O'Carroll Medal, Daniel O'Reilly was also presented with his award.

The Harold Browne Anatomy Medal, was awarded to Anatomy Quiz winners Ahmed Al-Aloosi, Aseel Al-Salman and Abdel Rahman Raed Mustafa Halawa. 
The final award of the evening was the Mary Leader Medal in Pathology, which was awarded to the Pathology Quiz winners Petal Elder, Randhir Seetaram and Ruth Emmanuel. The Quiz runners-up Eoin Nolan, Manuel Calvo-Gurry and Ruadhan O'Laoi were awarded with their certificates. 

The meeting closed with a presentation of a gift of appreciation from the Society to the outgoing President Professor Peter Conlon.