BRC Director chosen to receive international outstanding achievement award

Professor Melanie Davies CBE, Director of the NIHR Leicester BRC, has been chosen to receive a 2025 National Scientific and Health Care Achievement Award from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

The awards honour academics, health care providers and educators who have contributed to substantial advances in diabetes care and research.

Melanie will receive the 2025 Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Diabetes Research Award, which recognises exceptional contributions in patient-oriented clinical outcomes research that have had a significant impact on diabetes prevention and treatment. She is only the second woman to receive this prestigious award, and is the first woman outside the USA to do so.

Melanie Davies is Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester, an Honorary Consultant Diabetologist at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and Co-Director of the Leicester Diabetes Centre. She is a world-leading researcher, with over 960 original published articles into the causes, screening, prevention, self-management and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus and has an H Index of 135 and more than 100,000 citations.

Professor Davies’ research is driven by her clinical experience and the voices of people living with diabetes and includes screening for type 2 diabetes, prevention, self-management, 24-hour physical behaviours, and novel therapies for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Professor Davies said: "I am delighted to have been chosen to receive the American Diabetes Association’s 2025 Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Diabetes Research Award.

"I am honoured and deeply humbled to have been nominated by my esteemed colleagues and for their support and belief in me.  Throughout my career I’ve been inspired by the work of former recipients whose research has driven clinical care into diabetes. It feels wonderful to be chosen to be part of this history, and to know that I may now similarly inspire future generations of researchers in this ever-evolving field."

Charles ‘Chuck’ Henderson, chief executive officer of the American Diabetes Association said: "The diligent work of these passionate professionals is moving us closer to a world free of diabetes. Their contributions to research, prevention, and treatment are creating lasting change and improving the lives of people affected by diabetes.”

Professor Davies will travel to the ADA’s 85th Scientific Sessions in June for the ceremony.

The ADA’s Scientific Sessions is the world’s largest scientific meeting focused on diabetes research, prevention, and care. Thousands of leading physicians, scientists, and health care professionals from around the world are expected to convene to unveil cutting-edge research, treatment recommendations, and advances toward a cure for diabetes.