Obesity Management 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.

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. 

Claudia is a locum consultant in Diabetes & Endocrinology at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. She is the lead doctor for South East London Tier 3 weight management programme and a co-investigator for several obesity clinical trials.  Claudia is an active clinician, with expertise in managing patients with severe obesity. Her special interests are very low-calorie diets and obesity pharmacotherapy. She is also a committee member for The Association for the Study of Obesity.

Dr Sarah Appleton BSc (Hons) DClinPsy CPsychol is a Highly Specialist, Chartered Clinical Psychologist working in weight management. Sarah completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at The University of Oxford and has since worked in five different weight management and bariatric services across the UK and in America.

Sarah is current the Psychology Lead for the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Specialist Weight Management Programme (Tier 3); Healthy Weight Clinical and Care Professional Lead for Partnership Southwark; Co-Chair of the British Psychological Society Obesity and Bariatric Network; and Founder of Bind. Weight Management – a service offering specialist psychological support to those living with excess weight.

Sarah has conducted research into weight management, nutrition and behaviour in collaboration with The University of Oxford, The University of Bristol, and Kings College London, and is an Alumni Fellow of Healthcare Improvement Leadership at NIHR ARC NWL; Imperial College London. 

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. 

Dr Fallows is an experienced GP, Obesity and Lifestyle Medicine expert with qualifications in weight management, nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine. She works in NHS primary care where she has used group clinics to support people with long-term conditions and with the NHS Type-2 Diabetes "Paths to Remission Programme." She is Vice-President of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine and set up their Learning Academy, writing the first foundation course.  She has edited the soon to be published Cambridge University Press textbook on Lifestyle Medicine. Ellen teaches Lifestyle Medicine and behavioural science at Oxford University clinical school and lectures at other medical schools as well as at post-graduate training and trainer events. She is a Royal College of General Practitioners clinical advisor and representative.  

He set up the bariatric unit in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton UK, in 2004 and is now part of a 5-surgeon team.  Musgrove became the first International Center of Excellence for Bariatric Surgery of the US Surgical Review Corporation (2009) and has run a RCS England training Fellowship since 2009.  Roles include founder of UK National Bariatric Surgery Registry (2009), Chair (2013-18), lead surgeon for By-Band-Sleeve (NIHR), the largest bariatric surgery RCT (2012-22), President of BOMSS (2013-15), member NICE Guidance Group for obesity (CG189, 2014).  Led multi-collegiate RCS commissioning guidance for bariatric MDT clinics (2104, 2017).  Member IFSO Global Registry Committee (2014-2021).  IFSO World Congress President (London, 2017).  Awarded SCOPE International Fellowship (2012), IFSO Presidential Medal (2017), IFSO Award of Appreciation (2018).  Section Editor Current Obesity Reports (2016-), Associate Editor Obesity Surgery (2019).