University of Leicester’s international diabetes researcher becomes Dame
A Leicester doctor whose “constant curiosity” propelled her rise to be among the world’s leading type 2 diabetes and obesity experts has been named a Dame in The King’s Birthday Honours List.
Professor Melanie Davies CBE has become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to global diabetes, research, policy and care management. Her national and international achievements are extensive and numerous.
Working alongside Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE, the duo created the Leicester Diabetes Centre starting with early collaborations in 1999 on the way to building a multi-million-pound, state-of-the-art clinical research facility which now employs 280 people and has published more than 1,000 research papers. Many PhD students have grown with the centre including Prof Tom Yates, Professor Davies’s PhD student who has gone on to become a professor and an international speaker in his own right.
Professor Davies said: “What excites me most is what this means for my family – my husband Andrew, my children, my dad and my brother Tim. I know they are going to be proud, even though this moment is tinged with sadness that my mum Gill is not here to share it. It will also mean a great deal to my professional colleagues. I work with a fantastic team at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, and this recognition reflects not only my own journey, but what we have achieved together as a team.”
Professor Davies, who is a Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester, has seen her scientifically rigorous self-management programme implemented by more than 110 healthcare organisations across four continents.
The NHS Consultant at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust is one of the top global experts in type 2 diabetes, with more than 130,000 citations and an h-index of 151, which is an elite level for a scholarly metric that measures both an author’s productivity and the citation impact of their published work.
Professor Davies was awarded a CBE for her work in diabetes research in 2016. Since then, she has become one of a handful of women ever to direct a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres, and one of only two ever to lead two Biomedical Research Centres and a Biomedical Research Unit.
She was awarded the 2025 American Diabetes Association Outstanding Achievement Award for Clinical Diabetes research, only the second ever woman to receive this prestigious award and the first non-US woman. Professor Davies is also the Director of the Commercial Research Delivery Centre (CRDC) UK Network, a national network strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in commercial clinical research.
Professor Davies added: “I am driven by the conversations I have in clinic with people living with diabetes, and by the knowledge that there is still more to do. One of the things that sustains my personal drive and ambition is constant curiosity. I am always looking for the next unanswered research question, the next innovation.
“I am fortunate to be surrounded by ambitious, curious people, and we are never quite satisfied. That can sometimes be an annoying trait – you never quite feel you have reached where you want to be – but I think it has become one of our defining characteristics, both for me personally and for the team: this constant need to keep improving things for people living with diabetes.”
Professor Sir Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, said: “Melanie is a pioneer, an innovator and leader – she is constantly pushing the barriers of science and progress to establish new knowledge to provide answers to the frontline of medicine. She is dedicated with a relentless passion to improving the lives of people living with type 2 diabetes and obesity.
“To be recognised in the King's Birthday Honours list is an inspiring achievement, and my heartfelt congratulations go out to Professor Davies on behalf of our University community.”
Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group, said: “I am delighted Melanie has received this honour, and it is important recognition for her and her family. She has transformed type 2 diabetes and obesity research and care, fundamentally improving how type 2 diabetes is understood, treated, and managed. Melanie’s work has touched the lives of thousands of patients and families in Leicester, the UK and across the world.
"Melanie combines world-class research with a deep humanity and has built and inspired a community of colleagues who share her drive to keep improving outcomes for patients. Her leadership, curiosity and relentless focus have helped establish one of the most respected centres in the world, here in Leicester. We are incredibly proud to work with Professor Davies at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and congratulate her on this achievement.”
Professor Melanie Davies gave up a promising career in the equestrian world as a show jumper in order to study medicine at the University of Sheffield, she became the first member of her family to get a degree. Professor Davies continued her training in Ipswich and Cambridge before being appointed as a Consultant in Leicester in 1996 and subsequently, a Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Leicester in 2007.
Professor Davies lives in Scraptoft, Leicester, with her husband Andrew and has three children, Jacob, Isaac and Tilly. She is also close to her brother Tim Davies, a former international show jumper.
The Leicester Diabetes Centre is a partnership between the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and the University of Leicester, officially opened in 2013 by Sir Steve Redgrave CBE.