Our Story
Leicester has a strong tradition and reputation for excellence in diabetes care dating back 70 years to the pioneering work of Doctor Joan Walker, who established the first community diabetes clinics and the first diabetes research nurses in the UK. She started work at the Leicester Royal Infirmary as honorary Physician during the world war 2 taking care of people with diabetes. Leicester also has the highest number of people with diabetes in the UK.
Dr John Hearnshaw, was her successor in 1967 at the LRI, He was influential in the care of both children and adults with diabetes. He presented at the IFD : review of childhood diabetes in Leicester from 1930 which, formed basis of other prevalence studies.
This pioneering spirit is still at work in the Leicester Diabetes Centre. The original research department originated at the Royal Infirmary and was opened in 1996. At this time the main research work undertaken in the department were commercial drug trials.
 But it was only 12 years ago that Professor Melanie Davies began the diabetes research service with one nurse. In 2001 a Nurse Research Fellow was appointed to develop non-commercial clinical trials following the success of the departments first academic study in 1999 looking into the combination of different oral agents in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Since then, Professor Melanie Davies (Professor Melanie Davies is an Honorary Consultant Physician in the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and, since February 2006, Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester) and colleague Professor Kamlesh Khunti (Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine, University of Leicester) have developed a talented and diverse team of over 110 researchers, clinicians and educationalists working together on an innovative research portfolio of successful academic and commercial trials.

In March 2012 the new Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC) was opened, hosted within clinical space at the Leicester General Hospital (LGH) with excellent access to patients.
The Centre is now one of the largest facilities in Europe for carrying out first class and cutting edge research in the field of diabetes, prevention, and related long-term conditions.
The team is recognised as leading in national and international research, education and training in diabetes.
