Conference banner with the title "Beyond Boundaries: Improving the Health of South Asian people", scheduled for October 16-17, 2025, in Birmingham, UK, featuring a shadow of a person standing inside a large opening resembling a lamp or doorway.

Conference Speakers:

Prof Naveed Sattar

Cardiovascular disease in South Asians
Naveed Sattar is a diabetes/metabolic medicine expert. He has been a Clarivate Analytics Global Highly Cited Researcher every year for the last decade. His research focuses on the prevention and management of diabetes, obesity and CVD. His main contributions have helped define cardiovascular risks in diabetes including the relevance of age of onset, ethnicity, and specific drugs. He has also helped improve knowledge on general CVD risk factors including lipids, and the role of obesity across many outcomes. He has published over 1500 papers, cited more than 200K times and participated in multiple guidelines and clinical trials of lifestyle interventions and novel medicines. He has been the recipient of multiple award lectures including from the European and American Diabetes Associations. He continues to serve as Associate Editor for Diabetes Care.

Dr Clare Hambling

An Update from the National Diabetes and Obesity Programmes
Dr Clare Hambling was appointed National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity in January 2024. She is a General Practitioner in Norfolk and Waveney, where she has practiced for nearly 25 years. Clare has a long established interest in Diabetes, cardiometabolic health, Population Health Management and health inequalities. She is passionate about the power of data and digital transformation in clinical care. Prior to her role with NHS England, Clare had developed broad clinical leadership experience as a Governing Body GP for West Norfolk CCG and subsequently for Norfolk and Waveney CCG, and maintains a clinical leadership role with Norfolk and Waveney ICS (NWICS). She was the Chair of the Primary Care Diabetes and Obesity Society (formerly the Primary Care Diabetes Society) 2018-2024. It has been an extremely busy but exciting time since joining NHS England, with involvement across aspects of the Diabetes and Obesity programmes.

Prof Chittaranjan S Yajnik

Life Course Evolution of Diabetes in Indians
Prof. Yajnik is a diabetologist and a researcher who has made substantial contributions to the investigations of the high susceptibility of Indians to diabetes and related disorders. He is well known for his description of the ‘thin fat Indian’ and the contribution of nutritional intrauterine programming to this phenotype. He highlighted the role of vitamin B12 deficiency and deranged 1-C metabolism in the mother to these phenomena. He has initiated a pioneering randomized-controlled trial in Pune, India to improve micronutrient status of adolescents to reduce susceptibility to diabetes in the offspring.
Dr. Yajnik’s specialty is to set up multigenerational cohorts with high retention rates and collect extensive phenotypic information. He has facilitated the transfer of many research technologies to India from a wide range of collaborators from many countries and across multiple specialties. He has created a unique Biobank dating back to samples collected from 1987, spanning many cohorts and a lifecourse serial collection of blood, urine, stool and buccal smears (DNA, RNA, plasma, microbiome) in three generations in the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study.
He is a founder member, the current President of SNEHA India (Society for Natal Effects on Health in Adults) and a founder member and Trustee of the International DOHaD society (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease). He has been awarded Hellmut Mehnert award of the International Diabetes Federation (2009), David Barker Medal of the International DOHaD society (2011), Outstanding Investigator award of the World India Diabetes Foundation (2016), 41st Gopalan Oration Award, Nutrition Society of India (2017-18) and March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award (2019).

Prof Pratik Choudhary

An update on technology and how it is transforming management of diabetes
Pratik Choudhary is a Professor and Honorary Consultant in Diabetes with a special interest in type 1 diabetes and technology. Since joining the team in 2020, he has developed a wide portfolio of research around type 1 diabetes, management of hypoglycamia and improved use of diabetes technology. His current work is based around developing a better understanding of the impact of low and high glucose levels measured by continuous glucose monitoring systems and trying to link these data with better use of electronic health records. He is also leading work looking at evaluating the benefits of diabetes technologies in people living with type 2 diabetes. He has led the development of hands on as well as online training for people with diabetes as well as care professionals to learn about how to use diabetes technologies.
Professor Choudhary is the lead for type 1 diabetes in Leicester and is also Clinical Lead for Type 1 diabetes for the Midlands. He also chairs the Secretary of State for Transports Honorary Advisory Panel for diabetes and is ex-chair of the Diabetes Technology Network - UK that works to improve access to technology for diabetes through training, education and advocacy

Dr John Dennis

An update on technology and how it is transforming management of diabetes
Prof. John Dennis is a Wellcome Trust Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Exeter Medical School. John’s research focuses on precision medicine in type 2 diabetes. Combining evidence from electronic health records and clinical trials, he applies advanced statistical methods to discover factors altering treatment outcomes, and develop predictive models to optimise therapy choice for individual patients. In 2022 was awarded the European Association for the Study of Diabetes Rising Star award. He is a member of the UK MRC MASTERMIND type 2 diabetes precision medicine consortium, the international Precision Medicine in Diabetes initiative, and the UK Diabetes Data Science Catalyst.

Dr Elizabeth Robertson

Latest updates from Diabetes UK
Dr Elizabeth Robertson is the Director of Research and Clinical for Diabetes UK. Before joining Diabetes UK, Elizabeth was the first Director of Research for Breast Cancer Now (formed from the merger of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Campaign). Previous roles include Director of Operations at Cancer Research UK and Dean of the Graduate Research School at Teesside University. Elizabeth completed her PhD at Queen Mary, University of London and Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School. Elizabeth is a Trustee of the Association of Medical Research Charities and the Quadram Institute Bioscience and a former Trustee of King’s College Hospital Charity and the national volunteering charity, TimeBank.
Follow Elizabeth on Twitter @ERobertson02

Prof Partha Kar

Tackling Health Inequalities
Partha Kar comes from Kolkata India- who works in the NHS who as a Consultant in Diabetes & Endocrinology at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, UK. In his NHS England role -over the last decade, he has spearheaded efforts that establish the NHS as a global leader in access to technology for people with Type 1 Diabetes. This has resulted in nationwide improvements in HbA1c levels and reductions in DKA and hypo admissions among T1D patients.
His other contributions include publishing the first action plan to tackle racism within the medical workforce (MWRES Action Plan) and collaborating with the GMC to reduce referral inequalities based on ethnicity, evidenced by recent data showing a decrease in referral gaps. He is a notable user of social media in diabetes care and writes a monthly blog for the British Medical Journal, along with hosting a YouTube channel called ‘Kar- Mic’. He has been recognised as one of the most influential figures from the ethnic minority community within UK healthcare by the Healthcare Service Journal over the last 5 years. He was awarded an OBE for services to Diabetes care in 2021.

Dr Punith Kempegowda

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Practical Approaches to Management.
Dr Punith Kempegowda is a NIHR Advanced Fellow, Associate Professor and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy at the University of Birmingham. He is also an honorary consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, specialising in reproductive endocrinology and acute diabetes. His research interests are in dissemination, education and implementation. He founded and leads SIMBA, which provides simulation-based learning opportunities; CoMICs, which creates short evidence-based videos on various medical topics; DEKODE, a multicentre cloud-based quality improvement programme for diabetes-related emergencies; and PCOS SEVa, a multicentre programme aimed at understanding and improving models of care in PCOS. To find out more about Punith Kempegowda, please visit: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/applied-health/kempegowda-punith

Dr Leher Gumber

Intersection between rheumatic conditions and cardiovascular disease
Dr Leher Gumber read medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and is currently a Rheumatology and Internal Medicine Specialty Registrar based in Manchester. Her areas of research interest include cardio-rheumatology and minority health. She also serves as the Early Career Researcher Lead for the UK Cardio-IMID Partnership, helping to advance understanding at the intersection of rheumatology and cardiovascular health.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths

Tackling inequalities in CVD: our journey so far
Dr Charmaine Griffiths is Chief Executive of The British Heart Foundation, one of the world’s leading funders of cardiovascular research. She is also President of the European Heart Network and Chair of the Cranfield Trust.
She has held executive and non-executive leadership roles in a range of leading organisations, including the Institute of Cancer Research, The Royal Marsden NHS Trust, The Human Tissue Authority and World Heart Federation. She has a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bath and a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London. She also holds both an MBA and Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University.
With over a decade of Board and Chair experience, Dr Griffiths has extensive experience of leading complex organisations including as Chair of the Cranfield Trust and Global Cardiovascular Funders Forum.

Professor Jonathan Valabhji

National Updates: NHS England
Jonathan Valabhji is Clinical Chair in Medicine at Imperial College London, Honorary Consultant Diabetologist at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and National Clinical Lead for Multiple Long-Term Conditions at NHS England. From April 2013 until September 2023 he was National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity at NHS England. He established the NHS England Diabetes and Obesity Programmes and more recently, the NHS England Multiple Long-Term Conditions Programme. These Programmes have involved a broad portfolio of national work streams including lifestyle interventions, clinical care, and technological support for self-management.

Professor Nita Forouhi

Ultra-processed food: Ultra-relevant for health and policy?
Nita Forouhi is a physician-scientist, Professor of Population Health and Nutrition and Head of the Nutritional Epidemiology programme at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge. She is an NIHR Senior Investigator. She leads research on the link between nutrition, cardiometabolic disease and obesity and in informing strategies for their prevention in global populations.
She is a principal investigator of large cohort studies, her research has led to >350 publications and >150,000 citations and she has been frequently cited in the news media, dietary guidelines and influential policy reports. She is a commissioner for the EAT-Lancet Commission, served as series adviser to the BMJ and she has served on health-related committees including currently as co-chair of the World Health Organization committee on animal source foods. Nita trained in Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health in the UK.

Dr Shivani Misra

Is diabetes in South Asians different?
Shivani is a Clinical Associate Professor, Consultant Physician in Diabetes and is Head of Section for Metabolic Medicine within the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London.
Dr Misra’s research team aims to enhance diabetes care by harnessing diversity observed across different ancestry groups to better tailor treatment and prevention to those living with and at risk of type 2 diabetes & type 1 diabetes. The core focus is on early-onset type 2 diabetes (a diagnosis in youth and adults <40 years), which is characterised by 10-20 years of reduced life expectancy. In 2023 Dr Misra was awarded the Precision Medicine in Diabetes Prize from the European Study for the Association of Diabetes and Novo Nordisk Foundation and she currently serves as Co-Chair of the Precision Medicine in Diabetes Consortium and serve on the council of the NIDDK (NIH) Heterogeneity of Diabetes global coalition.

Dr Amir Ulhaq Khan

Debate – Will Bariatric surgery become obsolete in coming decade among South Asians
Consultant surgeon since 1992 with specialist interest in vascular and upper GI. One of the pioneers in setting up bariatric surgery in Midlands.
Also served as a Medical Director and Revalidation Officer for Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust .
Specialist in primary and redo bariatric surgery .