Young Researcher Award for diabetes and pregnancy specialist

Dr Rachel Freathy has been awarded the 15th Joseph Hoet Award. The annual international award is highly competitive and rewards the best young researcher in the field of diabetes and pregnancy.

Her research uses genetics to understand the factors which affect the growth of a foetus in the womb, and its association with developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Her work is recognised for her bringing together data from large studies of mothers and their babies.

Rachel said: “I am extremely honoured to have been selected for this award. The research I do is highly collaborative and relies on the support and hard work of many colleagues and collaborators, both in Exeter and outside. I feel very lucky to work in such fantastic teams and networks, and am also grateful for the support of my family.

“None of the work we do would be possible without the hundreds of thousands of people who volunteer their time and data for medical studies. So I’ll be collecting the award on behalf of them all!”

Rachel is a Sir Henry Dale Fellow at the University of Exeter Medical School. She has published several highly-cited research papers on the genetics of birth weight and its association with type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

As part of the prestigious award, Rachel was invited to give a 25 minute lecture on receiving her award. The Diabetic Pregnancy Study Group, EASD, presented the award at the Annual Meeting of the Study Group in Graz, Austria, on 6 September 2019.