Aston University professor named world expert in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aston University professor emeritus, Cliff Bailey has been named as a world expert in type 2 diabetes mellitus by Expertscape, based on his research publications over the last ten years.

Expertscape is designed to help find the most knowledgeable physicians and health professionals in the world. It objectively ranks people and institutions by their expertise in more than 27,000 biomedical topics.

The announcement coincides with World Diabetes Day on 14 November – which marks the birthday of Frederick Banting, one of the discoverers of insulin.

Cliff Bailey, professor of clinical science, and his colleagues in the College of Health and Life Sciences contributed key information to the development of metformin, now the most prescribed medicine in the world for the treatment of type 2 diabetes which is also on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) list of essential medicines.

More recently Cliff has been involved in the development of a new class of agents called SGLT2 inhibitors which are being used alongside metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Professor Cliff Bailey said: “I’m really pleased that our work continues to help people with diabetes to control their blood glucose and stay healthy.”

Cliff has received several awards including the Banting Memorial Lecture Award – the highest award of Diabetes UK - and the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Lunar Society.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes that affects more than 400 million people worldwide, including over four million people in the UK. It usually develops in middle or later life, is characterised by excess glucose in the blood, and usually results from a combination of impaired production and impaired activity of the hormone insulin.

Type 2 diabetes has extensive detrimental effects on the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes and nerves, and accounts for about 10% of the NHS budget.