NEWS: The Leicester Diabetes Centre 12 Days of Christmas 2022

Professor Melanie Davies CBE and Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE share their Christmas message for 2022 with us:

The holiday season is nearly upon us and we wanted to take a moment to look back on the past year, reflecting on our achievements and the outstanding work accomplished by our fantastic team throughout 2022.

We continue to navigate the challenges still posed by the coronavirus pandemic and adjust to hybrid working at the Leicester Diabetes Centre. We are thankful for the teams time, patience and support with this. Even with these challenges, the Patient Recruitment Centre continues to establish itself as one of the most successful PRCs in the UK. Its vaccines trials have helped support the nations ongoing battle with coronavirus and we know this is an achievement only possible with everyone’s efforts and vigilance.

Our work this past year has seen us collect awards and accolades across all of our teams, developing programmes that have influenced and supported international guidance for both type 1 and 2 diabetes. Our own Kamlesh Khunti received a CBE and there were new Professorial chairs for Sam Seidu, Adrian Palfreeman (Honorary Professor) and Kath Higgins (Honorary Associate Professor).

We have secured vital funding to continue to deliver pioneering clinical research into improving and saving lives both here in the UK with successful reapplication and expansion of NIHR Leicester BRC, continuation of the Leicester CRF, and internationally with the Global Health Research Centre for Multiple Long-Term Conditions.

We also bid farewell to our retirees in 2022; Adrian Manise, Margaret Weston, Lesley Meakin, Denise Robinson and Louisa Welford and thank them for their service throughout the years and welcomed a host of new team members who will be essential in improving our research and care for our patients. 

2022 saw a return to some face-to-face activities and a recognition for delivering exceptional outputs at key events throughout the year. Something we continue to be proud of and wholly appreciate efforts to produce outstanding work.

As 2022 draws to a close and we look ahead to the holiday season with our family and loved ones, we both send our very best wishes for a relaxing and restful period to recharge and reflect on what has been another exceptional year.

Professor Melanie Davies CBE and Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE