Exeter researcher nominated for Health Scientist of the Year

Dr Timothy McDonald, of the University of Exeter Medical School, has been recognised by the NHS for his contributions to diabetes diagnosis and health care sciences in the UK. He is also a Consultant Biochemist leading the Academic Department of Blood Sciences at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

The award celebrates an exceptional individual who uses their scientific ability to benefit the NHS and its users, and who demonstrates the crucial contribution that science has in sustaining the NHS. There are 50,000 healthcare scientists working in the UK.

His research specialises in improving diagnosis of monogenic forms of diabetes – forms which are often misdiagnosed in young adults as Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Using biomarkers to identify patients with monogenic forms, Timothy and his team have developed models which help clinicians identify patients with these rarer genetic causes.

Timothy also worked alongside Professor Andrew Hattersley and others to develop a simple, inexpensive test which measures C-peptide, determining how much insulin a person is producing, and clarifying if a patient has been diagnosed correctly. The test has been adopted across the NHS.

His nomination for the award follows his receiving the Department of Health’s Young Healthcare Scientist of the Year award in 2012, and the Association for Clinical Biochemistry’s Professors Prize in 2016.

On being nominated, Timothy said: “I’m honoured to have been nominated. Our team has worked incredibly hard and is so dedicated to supporting patients, and meeting the demands of a changing NHS. It’s wonderful that this has been recognised by the NHS.”

The Healthcare Science Awards are now in their 13th year. The award will be given March 7th.