e-Consultation with Obesity

Professional statement

Dr Marc Atkin is a top consultant in diabetes, endocrinology and internal medicine operating privately at the BMI Bath Clinic. His areas of expertise lie in treating diabetes, thyroid and parathyroid disorders, obesity and diseases of the adrenal & pituitary gland. Dr Atkin has practised as a consultant in Bath since 2012. He is currently Clinical Lead for the Diabetes & Endocrinology department in the Royal United Hospital in Bath and the Diabetes Clinical Lead for the SW Cardiovascular Network for NHS England. Before becoming a consultant, he graduated from Southampton Medical School in 1997 and completed his training in several hospitals in South England. He began researching into cardiovascular disease in diabetes with Professor Cummings in Portsmouth and thereafter obtained an MD in 2011. Aside from his consultancy work, Dr Atkin is a committee member of Association British Clinical Diabetologists & T1DCC and is on the Diabetes Steering Committee of Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire STP in South West England. He has also written several national diabetes policies and strategies for several diabetes organisations including NHS England and Diabetes UK. Dr Atkin has also chaired and presented at numerous national meetings and is a lead judge on the Quality in Care National Diabetes Awards. While he has an interest in service development and innovation in service delivery, Dr Atkin also has interests in Healthcare IT, looking at new ways to improve care for diabetic patients.

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Professor Francesco Rubino is a leading, internationally-renowned bariatric surgeon and a pioneer in the field of metabolic weight loss treatment and surgery, based in London. Originally, Professor Rubino trained in Rome, Italy, at the Catholic University Hospital doing his residence in general surgery and receiving his MD. His surgery training was furthered during his Fellowship in laproscopic and minimally invasive surgery at The European Institute of Telesurgery in Strasbourg, France, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Naturally, Professor Rubino became Chief of Gastroinestinal Metabolic Surgery and Director of the Diabetes Surgery Centre at Weill Cornell Medical College. At the same time, he was an attending surgeon at New York Presbytarian Hospital in New York. Not too long after in 2013, he was appointed to King's College Hospital as a Professor of Metabolic Surgery; it was the first of its kind, making him an international ground-breaker in the field. Since then, he has continued to lead his field with novel procedures and advancing the concept of bariatric surgery. Professor Rubino has transformed bariatrics from simply weight-loss therapy to a surgical treatment for multiple metabolic conditions. In particular, he did a study in 2006 that resulted in positive results for type II diabetes. Pioneering the world of bariatrics, Professor Rubino has gone around the world attending various conferences, holding posts a memberships, publishing more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific journals, receiving innumerable prizes, and even organising his own Diabetes Surgery Summit which was supported internationally. Without a doubt, he has become a reference in his field. Representing the impact of his expertise, one of Professor Rubino's patients, Jenni Murray, authored a memoir, Fat Cow, Fat Chance, about her journey through weight loss. Murray struggled throughout her life with the idea of weight, obesity, and weight loss. Once she found Professor Rubino, her life was forever changed and, more importantly, saved.

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Professional statement

Based in London, Professor Barbara McGowan is a leading expert in endocrinology. Her special interests include weight loss, bariatric medicine, polycystic ovarian syndrome, thyroid problems, infertility, adrenal disease and pituitary disorders. Outside of her clinic she is dedicated to research, her work has been recognised by NIHR/RCP who awarded her for her 'outstanding contribution to research' in 2016. She has published extensively in high impact journals, including the Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine. She practices from Guy's Hospital and BMI Bishops Wood while also serving as an Honorary Professor at King's College London.

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Professional statement

Mr Paul Leeder is a renowned consultant general surgeon who specialises in laparoscopic, upper GI (gastrointestinal), bariatric and hernia surgery. He provides patients with treatment for a variety of conditions such as obesity, gastro-oesophageal cancers, reflux disease, gallstones and hernias. Furthermore, Mr Leeder is highly trained and skilled in numerous surgical procedures, including laparoscopic (keyhole) procedures. In fact, he performs over 300 laparoscopic procedures per year. He also assists with diagnosis and treatment using upper GI endoscopy. After qualifying in medicine in 1989 from the University of Sheffield, Mr Leeder underwent training in Nottingham, Leeds and Oxford. His specialist training also took him further afield out of the UK. Mr Leeder was awarded a prestigious fellowship in laparoscopic surgery in Adelaide, Australia, and he also trained in Lyon and Hamburg before beginning his consultant post in Derby.  Since 2002, he has worked as a consultant in both the NHS and private health sector, and private patients can access Mr Leeder's first-class medical services in Derby and Nottingham. Not only does he contribute to his field through patient care, but also through conducting medical research. What's more, as Director of Education for The Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons, he's at the forefront of teaching and training the next generation of surgeons.

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Professional statement

Dr Jude Oben is a leading consultant gastroenterologist in London who also specialises in hepatology (liver medicine). His areas of interests across both specialties include endoscopy, obesity, abnormal liver function tests, Intra-gastric balloon, abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease. Dr Oben has a PhD in Pharmacology from University College London. He studied Medicine at Oxford with a period at Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA, as a research fellow in Immunology. After Oxford, his initial Postgraduate Medical training was at the Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London, followed by training in Ophthalmology (Eye Surgery). During his specialist medical registrar training, he re-oriented his research career with two years as a postdoctoral fellow at John Hopkins University, USA. At Johns Hopkins, Dr Oben combined his previous interest in neuroscience with liver medicine and with a particular focus on obesity-related liver disease. After his time at John Hopkins, he was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in London to start independent research at University College London. He is currently an Associate Professor in Hepatology at University College London, Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital, London. Dr Oben is a co-founder and Trustee of the Obesity Action launched at the House of Lords. The primary aim of Obesity Action is to raise political and public awareness of obesity and it’s health consequences. He is an invited member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity.

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Professor Pradeep Bhandari is a leading gastroenterologist based in Portsmouth and London. He specialises in management of a range of Gastrointestinal conditions including early cancers, Barrett's oesophagus, acid reflux, Irritable bowel syndrome, dyspepsia, peptic ulcers, rectal bleeding and obesity, amongst other conditions. He is an expert in advanced endoscopic procedures, including early diagnosis of cancers and endoscopic resections for cancers. He also provides screenings for gastrointestinal cancers. He serves as Professor of Gastroenterology at the University of Portsmouth and has been the Chair of the British Society of Gastroenterologists (BSG) Cancer Group. He currently holds the Research chair of European society of Gastrointestinal endoscopy (ESGE).  He completed a visiting fellowship in Tokyo, working at one of the world's leading endoscopy units at the National Cancer Centre, where new endoscopic techniques were being developed for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancer. The skills he learnt there have enabled him to influence practices of diagnosis, screening, surveillance and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers here in the UK. Professor Bhandari is a member of a number of key organisations in his field, including the British Medical Association (BMA), Royal college of Physicians, European society of gastrointestinal endoscopy and American society of gastrointestinal endoscopy. He received the Hopkins Endoscopy Award from the British Society of Gastroenterology for technical innovation in the field of endoscopy, and the Crystal Award from the American Gastroenterology Association for research in early cancer diagnosis, both in 2013.

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Professional statement

Professor Carel le Roux is an award-winning specialist in metabolic medicine and is recognised as a leading expert in metabolism and obesity. His areas of expertise include type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular risk and metabolic disorders. Professor le Roux holds clinics in Dublin, Ireland and practices regularly at King's College Hospital Guthrie Clinic, London.  He has published numerous high-impact papers over the years and has also been able to take up a variety of editorial positions in peer-reviewed journals.  Professor le Roux established a successful independent research group and his research in the understanding of the physiological role and pathological changes in appetite control has been widely acknowledged for his analysis in this area.    

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Professional statement

Mr Andrew Wan is a highly-skilled consultant general, upper gastrointestinal and bariatric surgeon based in London. He specialises in treating obesity, gallstones, acid reflux and hernias and is an expert in bariatric surgery and gallbladder removal surgery (cholecystectomy). Additionally, he has a special interest in abdominal endocrine diseases including the adrenal glands and neuroendocrine tumours of the pancreas. He is the Clinical Lead at St George's Hospital and also operates from several reputable private clinics, including Parkside Hospital. Mr Wan routinely undertakes a range of general surgical procedures, performing most of them laparoscopically. Outside of his clinic he is actively involved in educating trainee surgeons and forms a part of the Southwest London Surgical Training Committee. Mr Wan currently forms a part of the Southwest London Higher Surgical Training Committee and is the Assigned Educational Supervisor for upper GI trainees. He is passionate about education and teaches medical students at St George's Medical School and lectures regularly both locally and internationally. He is particularly enthusiastic about academic surgery and has published his research widely.

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Dr Aseem Malhotra is a highly esteemed, award-winning NHS consultant cardiologist based at the ROC Private Clinic, London. He is a globally regarded specialist when it comes to diagnosing, preventing, and managing heart disease. His areas of expertise include evidence based medicine, collaborative shared decision-making with patients, obesity, coronary artery disease, preventive cardiology, as well as angina. Dr Malhotra graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 2001.  Quite frankly, Dr Malhotra has been nothing short of a medical game changer throughout his career as a leading cardiologist in the UK, having impressively enlisted major celebrities such as world-famous chef Jamie Oliver and British football icon Steven Gerrard in his attempt to introduce significant improvements in school food being offered across the country. The inspirational doctor has also established himself as one of the world's most influential campaigning doctors with regards to medical issues such as obesity, heart disease and overall population health. His main topic of research over the years has been shifting the understanding of true causes of heart disease and how potentially reverse it. As well as occupying the full-time position as consultant cardiologist, Dr Malhotra is also a regular visiting professor of evidence based medicine at the Bahiana School of Medicine and Public Health in Salvador, Brazil and is an honorary council member of the Metabolic Psychiatry Clinic at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. Not only that, but the revolutionary Dr Malhotra is also a founding member and advisor to the obesity-tackling, charity campaign group, Action on Sugar. To-date, Dr Malhotra's admirational campaigning has seen the UK's main media outlets, academics and politicians take note and take action with regards to prioritising sugar reduction.  Dr Malhotra was shortlisted in the Sunday Times Debrett's list as one of the most influential individuals in the UK in the fields of science and medicine, a list which also had the iconic Professor Stephen Hawking shortlisted. Incredibly, his altmetric total score (an overall measure of impact and reach) relating to the number of medical journal publications had reached over 10,000 by 2013, one of the highest global scores for any doctor worldwide during this specific period of time.  Dr Malhotra is a regular expert health commentator for main British print and broadcast media, most notably his role as newspaper reviewer for none other than Sky News. He has also written a whole host of health-related publications for various media giants, such as The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, and BBC online but to mention a few. 

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Professional statement

Dr Simon Aylwin is a consultant endocrinologist in London with 30 years of professional expertise and a well-established private practice that mirrors his NHS work. Patients can access his private healthcare services HCA UK at the Shard, which is part of London Bridge Hospital. Dr Aylwin has spent decades assisting patients with the diagnosis and management of a wide range of conditions. This includes thyroid problems, such as hyperthyroidism, as well as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and issues relating to the growth hormone. He is also an expert on the adrenal gland and pituitary glands. In fact, Dr Alywin is the leader of the pituitary and adrenal multidisciplinary teams at the renowned King’s College Hospital in London, where patients receive treatment for pituitary tumours and other endocrine-related tumours and cancers. Furthermore, he works as a physician alongside bariatric surgeons managing patients with severe obesity. He graduated from Queens’ College, Cambridge, in 1987 and undertook clinical studies at the Royal London Hospital, qualifying in 1990. After achieving his MRCP in 1993, he undertook specialist endocrinology training and research studies at Bart’s and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, obtaining his PhD in 2001. Dr Aylwin has published over 80 scientific research papers in peer-reviewed journals. Through research, he has contributed to the fields of endocrine tumours, clinical obesity, appetite regulation, and molecular endocrinology. Furthermore, he regularly reviews journal submissions for international publications for Pituitary, the Pituitary Society's international journal, of which he is also on the editorial board. What's more, Dr Aylwin is involved in the teaching and training of future specialists. He lectures widely both within the UK and abroad and has contributed to numerous symposia and debates at several societies, including the British Endocrine Society.

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Professional statement

Dr Bernard Khoo is a highly-skilled consultant endocrinologist based at The London Clinic. His areas of expertise lie in the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumours, adrenal disease, thyroid and parathyroid disorders, obesity and diabetes and pituitary disorders. Dr Khoo trained at the University of Cambridge and subsequently obtained his specialist accreditation in Endocrinology and Diabetes at St Bartholomew's, where he worked as Wellcome Trust Advanced Fellow from 2003 to 2006. Since 2009 he has been a senior clinical lecturer at University College London (UCL) Medical School. In addition to The London Clinic, Dr Khoo is based at the Royal Free Hospital in London where he sees over a thousand patients a year with general endocrine ailments. He is the endocrinologist for the Royal Free Neuroendocrine Tumour Multidisciplinary Team and also participates in the Royal Free Thyroid Cancer Multidisciplinary Team. In addition to his specialties, he has a particular interest in the treatment of genetic endocrine disorders, diabetes, calcium disorders and phaeochromocytomas.

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