Dr Nick Kairinos, a UCT PhD student in plastic surgery and a registrar at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), has added four more awards to his growing collection. In October, he won the Stratmed Prize for Best Research Paper of the South African Society for Surgery of the Hand, and the Best Scientific Research Paper and Best Invention Award from the Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons of Southern Africa. (Kairinos also received third prize at the UCT Surgical Research Day.) His current research has resulted in the concept of a new type of vacuum dressing, which regulates its own suction pressure so that wound pressures are always optimal for healing. As a successful inventor, Kairinos has filed two patent applications through UCT's Research Contracts and Intellectual Property Services.