Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity team
4.3 million people are living with a diagnosis of diabetes in the UK and two-thirds of adults are currently living with overweight and obesity. . Living with diabetes, obesity and endocrine (the system of glands producing hormones) disorders can lead to other longer-term complications, including cardiovascular disease, liver and respiratory disease and cancer, as well as having an impact on mental health.
King’s Health Partners Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity (KHP DEO) is focused on delivering improved health and wellbeing outcomes for people living with diabetes, obesity and endocrine disorders. Our vision is to become a metabolic centre of excellence – providing cutting-edge basic, clinical and applied research in metabolic diseases. We will use our position as one of the most diverse communities in the UK to inform our research and deliver equitable access to high quality care. We will build on our multi-professional workforce and vibrant research environment to ensure that our local population reduce their risk of metabolic diseases and have improved health outcomes. Our research work is primarily centred around four core areas: Type 1 diabetes, Disorders of Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Complications of Major Mental Illness and Endocrinology.
King’s Health Partners Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity is focused on delivering improved health and wellbeing outcomes for people living with diabetes, obesity and endocrine disorders. Our vision is to become a metabolic centre of excellence - providing cutting-edge basic, clinical and applied research in metabolic diseases. We will use our position as the most diverse community in the UK to inform our research and deliver equitable access to high quality care. We will build our multi-professional workforce and a vibrant environment for researchers and clinicians (including AHPs, nurses and medics) to ensuring our local population can manage their health and lifestyles to prevent metabolic diseases. Our strategy will cover four themes: Type 1 diabetes, Disorders of Insulin Resistance, Serious Mental Illness and endocrine/metabolic complications, and Endocrinology.
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Meet the DEO team
Our team of directors provide representation across each of our partner organisations, and drive the delivery of our vision and mission.
Dr Stephen Thomas, Joint Director
Stephen is a clinical leader across diabetes, endocrinology and obesity at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (NHS FT) and has a strong understanding of the local system, having previously been a consultant at King’s College Hospital and an academic lecturer and academic research fellow in Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Stephen’s clinical work focussed on looking after those with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who need extra specialist input and cares from people in internal medicine in an inpatient setting. Stephen is also a Clinical Director at the Trust and manages two busy directorates which focus on both outpatient and inpatient care, as well as a number of support functions.
Stephen is also the Clinical Director of the London Diabetes Clinical Network (NHS England, London Region), overseeing transformation and improvement across the capital to improve outcomes and reduce variation in care for people with diabetes. He was previously also the diabetes and long-term condition lead for Healthcare for London.
Dr Gavin Bewick, Joint Director
Gavin has a well-established reputation within the field of diabetes and obesity research built over the last 20 years and is an experienced leader within King’s College London. His current theme lead role focuses on research strategy within SCMMS, an area also identified as a priority for the DEO Clinical Academic Partnership. Gavin has also been a driving force behind the research and innovations workstream within DEO.
A key current interest of the Bewick lab is the role of the gut epithelium in the control of metabolism and the pathophysiology of diabetes and obesity. His lab is exploring the role of diet, the microbiome and immune signalling in shaping the gut epithelium in health and disease. The lab is also exploring how gut hormones can be targeted to prevent or treat Type 1 Diabetes. The lab used both pre-clinical and translational approaches encompassing methods ranging from organoid culture to single-cell transcriptomics to physiological studies.
Dr Sophie Harris, Joint Director
Sophie is a Diabetes Consultant and Clinical Lead for Diabetes at King’s College Hospital NHS FT, alongside her role as Deputy Clinical Director of Diabetes at the South London Health Innovation Network (HIN). Her role within the HIN gives her insight into current innovation and implementation priorities across south London. She has leadership roles within the NHSEI London clinical network for diabetes and has recently taken on national responsibilities, including chairing a Get It Right First Time (GIRFT) diabetes at the front door working group and leading a project for NHS England looking at user experience and outcomes in diabetes.
Her previous research investigated reasons for inequalities in uptake of self-management education in people with type 1 diabetes in South London. The findings of this PhD supported a successful application for NHS England transformation funding and the subsequent development and implementation of a diabetes booking platform across south London.
Sophie is a research active clinician with a strong understanding of the priorities within King’s College London, and a passion for addressing health inequalities in service access and delivery. Her specific interests are around digital health, improvement and implementation, self-care, patient education and empowerment, including peer- support strategies. With specific clinical interest in Type 1 diabetes, diabetes and eating disorders and diabetes in pregnancy.
Dr Shubulade (Lade) Smith, Joint Director
Dr Lade Smith is a consultant psychiatrist and Clinical Director for the Forensic Service at the South London and Maudsley NHS FT. She is also a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London and Clinical Director at the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH).
She was awarded a CBE for services to forensic psychiatric intensive care in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2019. She is the President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Joint Presidential Lead for Race Equality at the Royal College of Psychiatrist. Alongside significant leadership experience, she has a strong academic focus and continues to do research at the IoPPN. She is also a clinical supervisor and trainer for junior psychiatrists from Guy's, King's, and St Thomas’ (GKT) Medical School, and teaches regularly on the DClinpsy and MRCPsych courses.
Shubulade was voted a BMA pioneering consultant and nominated as a Woman of the Year in 2002 for the development of her ‘One Stop Shop’, a medication review and physical monitoring clinic for people with mental health problems. She is known nationally and internationally for her work in the hormonal and reproductive effects of antipsychotic medications. Shubulade was responsible for some of the key sections in the influential ‘The Abandoned Illness’ report of the Schizophrenia Commission. More recently she was a key contributor to the Independent Mental Health Act Review, chaired by Prof Sir Simon Wessely. She led the Criminal Justice System topic group, and sat on the core working group, evidence review group and the African and Caribbean working group.
Ms Helen Kelsall, Joint Director
Helen is Deputy Chief Nursing Officer at South London and the Maudsley NHS FT. She is also an active member of the research and development team at the Trust which works to ensure the co-ordination and delivery of several clinical research studies within the Trust, including clinical, academic, and commercial research.
Helen has worked across acute, mental health and community services, clinically and within leadership positions at NHS Foundation Trusts. Prior to her current role, Helen was the Divisional Director of Nursing responsible for Acute and Emergency Medicine, Medical speciality Inpatient Services, Palliative care, and Cancer services, as well as a diverse number of Clinical Nurse Specialists, Advanced Nurse and Assistant Clinical Practitioners at Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust.
She is currently responsible for the development and maintenance of professional standards across the Trust, contributing to strategic planning for the Trust as part of the Senior Nursing Leadership Team. Helen has experience in the delivery of both current and previous Trust’s strategic ambitions and quality priorities, including authoring and delivering Chelsea and Westminster 2020 – 2025 dementia clinical strategy. She co-led on the rapid redesign of non-elective patient pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic, having recognised a need for significant safe-service redesign. Helen leads on behalf of Nursing for the delivery of the South London and Maudsley NHS FT for Physical Health Care has a strong understanding of the local population but is also well connected with approaches to quality nationally.
Prof Emma Duncan, Joint Director
Emma is a Professor of Clinical Endocrinology at King’s College London and Honorary Consultant Physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’s NHS FT. She is a specialist in endocrinology, with special interest in bone and neuroendocrine disease. She also holds roles as Professor of Medicine (honorary) at the University of Queensland and Adjunct Professor within the Faculty of Health at Queensland University of Technology.
Emma is a highly experienced researcher and clinical research leader, who has led on both basic and clinical research studies across diverse areas of endocrinology. She has held many elected leadership positions within professional societies, contributing to leadership and governance nationally and internationally, previously serving as President of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society, and currently serving as Councillor for the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and Associate Editor for the Journal for Bone and Mineral Research and Endocrine Reviews.
Emma’s main area of work is Bone and skeletal dysplasias, and common and rare genetics. Her research spans the genetics of many endocrine disorders, from common variant to rare monogenic diseases, publishing multiple high-impact papers interrogating genetics of osteoporosis and skeletal dysplasias, MODY [maturity- onset diabetes of the young], and phaeochromocytomas and paragangliomas. Prof Duncan’s practical experience in gene mapping includes genetic epidemiology, linkage, genome-wide association studies, and massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technologies; and she has played a pioneering role in the translation of genetic technologies (such as high- throughput microarray genotyping and massively parallel sequencing) into clinical practice. Recently, she has contributed to COVID-19 research, particularly COVID-19 in children; and she co-leads the KCL COVID Symptom Study Biobank with particular focus on interrogating the genetics of the post-COVID syndrome.
Hayley Ormandy, Programme Director
As Programme Director for the KHP Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity Clinical Academic Partnership (KHP DEO), Hayley has responsibility for driving agreed strategic priorities and overseeing delivery of clinical academic transformation priorities that foster clinical, research, and education excellence for the benefit of our communities and partner organisations.
Hayley works in a joint role across South East London Integrated Care System as Programme Director for Vital 5 and Prevention. She is focused on supporting the development and delivery of an overarching Vital 5 implementation plan across south east London to ensure we maximise opportunities and impact, testing different models for preventative wellbeing services, and supporting the development of the SEL Integrated Care Partnership Prevention and Wellbeing Strategic Priority into action.
Prior to KHP - Hayley held senior level roles within NHS clinical commissioning, integrated care networks, and within a healthcare management consultancy.
To get in touch with the CAP and learn more about our work, please email deo@kcl.ac.uk.