Clinical Management of Obesity National Networking Forum

Rob Andrews is an associate Professor at the University of Exeter, an Honorary Consultant Physician at Musgrove Park Hospital Taunton.

At the University he leads a group that researches the role that exercise, and diet can play in the prevention and management of diabetes and obesity.

In Taunton, he leads the diabetes and obesity Research team. Until last year he was the medical lead for a large multidisciplinary weight management service. This is a holistic service offering specialised dietary and exercise programs, drug therapy and bariatric surgery as well as running clinics for people with eating disorders and complications post surgery. In recognition of this service, Taunton is designated an International Centre of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery.

Sadaf Farooqi is a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK. She is an internationally leading Clinician Scientist who has made seminal contributions to understanding the genetic and physiological mechanisms that underlie obesity and its complications. The work of Sadaf Farooqi and her colleagues has fundamentally altered the understanding of how body weight is regulated. With colleagues, she discovered and characterised the first genetic disorders that cause severe childhood obesity and established that the principal driver of obesity in these conditions was a failure of the control of appetite. Her work is often cited as an exemplar of how the translation of research into the mechanisms of disease can lead to patient benefit. She has received a number of awards including the 2024 Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award from the Endocrine Society. In 2021, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her exceptional contribution to science.

Irena is WM Nurse Specialist and Independent Prescriber at Musgrove Park Hospital, Somerset NHS FT. She initiates and follows up patients on injectable weight loss medications and has established clinics for genetic testing for Obesity.

Irena is involved in research projects to improve service delivery, using real world data from clinical practice.

She sat on NICE MTAC as a specialist committee member for early value assessment: digital technologies for providing specialist weight-management service. She is a member of the National Obesity Database Steering Group.

Irena has extensive nursing career in variety of acute clinical settings. She has made successful contribution to clinical research leading on COVID and diabetes trials and was a lead research nurse on STEP 1 trial, which aimed to assess the effect and safety of Semaglutide 2.4 mg once weekly in subjects with overweight or obesity. Despite being the smallest site in UK, their team had one of the best retention rates in the country and Irena was asked to share their success on international level.

Rob Andrews is an associate Professor at the University of Exeter, an Honorary Consultant Physician at Musgrove Park Hospital Taunton.

At the University he leads a group that researches the role that exercise, and diet can play in the prevention and management of diabetes and obesity.

In Taunton, he leads the diabetes and obesity Research team. Until last year he was the medical lead for a large multidisciplinary weight management service. This is a holistic service offering specialised dietary and exercise programs, drug therapy and bariatric surgery as well as running clinics for people with eating disorders and complications post surgery. In recognition of this service, Taunton is designated an International Centre of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery.

Sadaf Farooqi is a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge, UK. She is an internationally leading Clinician Scientist who has made seminal contributions to understanding the genetic and physiological mechanisms that underlie obesity and its complications. The work of Sadaf Farooqi and her colleagues has fundamentally altered the understanding of how body weight is regulated. With colleagues, she discovered and characterised the first genetic disorders that cause severe childhood obesity and established that the principal driver of obesity in these conditions was a failure of the control of appetite. Her work is often cited as an exemplar of how the translation of research into the mechanisms of disease can lead to patient benefit. She has received a number of awards including the 2024 Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award from the Endocrine Society. In 2021, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her exceptional contribution to science.

Irena is WM Nurse Specialist and Independent Prescriber at Musgrove Park Hospital, Somerset NHS FT. She initiates and follows up patients on injectable weight loss medications and has established clinics for genetic testing for Obesity.

Irena is involved in research projects to improve service delivery, using real world data from clinical practice.

She sat on NICE MTAC as a specialist committee member for early value assessment: digital technologies for providing specialist weight-management service. She is a member of the National Obesity Database Steering Group.

Irena has extensive nursing career in variety of acute clinical settings. She has made successful contribution to clinical research leading on COVID and diabetes trials and was a lead research nurse on STEP 1 trial, which aimed to assess the effect and safety of Semaglutide 2.4 mg once weekly in subjects with overweight or obesity. Despite being the smallest site in UK, their team had one of the best retention rates in the country and Irena was asked to share their success on international level.