An academic and doctor has been presented with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) medal by King Charles III.

Maher Community’s Professor Kamlesh Khunti attended a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday after being named in the 2022 New Year’s Honours List.

He was given the honour for his services to health – particularly his work to improve the health of the city’s ethnic minority community.

He said he was “truly humbled”.

Prof Khunti, of the University of Leicester, has been responsible for major advances in type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease research.

During the Covid 19 pandemic he became chair of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) ethnic sub-panel and was among the first to identify the disproportional impact of the virus on people from ethnic minorities.

Prof Khunti, who still practises part-time as a GP, also helped build up the Leicester Diabetes Centre team that carries out studies designed to improve the lives of people with the condition.

Upon receiving his honour, Professor Kamlesh Khunti said: “I am truly humbled and I would like to dedicate the award to my team at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, my staff at the Hockley Farm Medical Practice, the University of Leicester and most of all to my family.

“It is indeed a huge honour to be recognised in the New Year’s Honours List.”

Prof Khunti is also the director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East Midlands and the founding director of the Centre for Ethnic Health Research.

Professor Khunti began his career as a General Practitioner in 1990, recruiting his first research assistant in 1998. With increasing success, the team grew and Professor Khunti took up an appointment with the University of Leicester as Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine in 2007.

Working alongside Professor Melanie Davies, Professor Khunti has built up the Leicester Diabetes Centre team with more than 170 people currently carrying out studies designed to improve the lives of people with diabetes. The Leicester Diabetes Centre is recognised across the world for its leading research, education and innovation.

Professor Kamlesh Khunti is also the Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) East Midlands and also the founding Director of the Centre for Ethnic Health Research and the University of Leicester Real World Evidence Unit.

He has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is currently an advisor to the Department of Health, a Clinical Advisor for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and a member of the Primary Care Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

In 2019, Professor Kamlesh Khunti was given the South Asian Health Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for his outstanding contribution to South Asian health through cutting-edge research, which has influenced frontline diabetes care across the world.

Earlier this year, Professor Khunti also picked up a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Primary Care Diabetes Society (PCDS) in celebration of his outstanding accomplishments within diabetes care during his career.

Credit/ Source:
Leicester University
BBC News