

The Connie Elson MLD Essay Prize is a newly instituted award for the best essay on metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) written by a medical student. This award was instituted in memory of Connie Elson who sadly passed away as the result of MLD in 2022 at the age of 13 years old.
“Connie was a bright, articulate little girl who had a passion for reading. She was fun loving and had the most amazing sense of humour and an infectious laugh. She could light up a room and had a unique ability to draw people to her. She was also headstrong and knew her own mind. From a very early age, Connie had dreams and aspirations of becoming a doctor. Sadly, Connie was diagnosed with MLD at five and a half years old and these aspirations were ripped from her grasp. Through the platform of the Essay Prize, we not only honour her ambitions but also contribute to the broader dialogue on MLD which will serve as a catalyst for positive change.”
This prize is open to any medical student currently enrolled on an MBBS, or equivalent, medical degree (e.g. MB BChir, BM BCh etc.) programme in an accredited university in the United Kingdom. Applications cannot be accepted from any medical student who is not studying in the UK, irrespective of their nationality. The winning essay will be decided by the board of trustees and the winner will receive a certificate and a prize of £250.
Instructions
Write an essay of no more than 2,000 words on MLD, covering:
- Clinical features and diagnosis
- Pathophysiology
- Therapeutic approaches
- Prognosis
The essay can be written either as a structured essay using the titles above, or as one essay. There is no requirement to reference but, if you decide to do so, there is no stipulation about how it should be referenced or the reference style. The only requirement is that the essay is under 2,000 words and covers all of the four areas above. Although you can use AI to help research the essay, the aim of this exercise is to increase knowledge of MLD amongst the future medical workforce and, therefore, we would request that you do not submit an essay written entirely by AI.
Completed essays should be saved as a Word or PDF document and sent as an email attachment to daniel@mldsupportuk.org.uk with the subject heading of “Connie Elson MLD Essay Prize” by the 30th September 2025. For an application to be valid, the name of the university at which the applicant is studying medicine should be included in the email, in addition to the name of the degree programme and year/level of study.