Dr. Jonathan Valabhji

Dr. Jonathan Valabhji is Clinical Chair in Medicine at Imperial College London, and Honorary Consultant Diabetologist at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He is currently National Clinical Lead for Multiple Long-Term Conditions at NHS England, and from April 2013 until September 2023, was National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity at NHS England. He established the NHS England Diabetes and Obesity Programmes, with a broad portfolio of national work streams involving lifestyle interventions, clinical care, technological support for diabetes self-management, multiple long-term conditions, and the impact of diabetes, by type, on COVID-19-related outcomes.

As National Clinical Director, he led rapid translation of high-quality diabetes research into national policy and practice and has established models for evaluation to assess translational impact. He successfully made the case for, and led implementation of, the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, with around 1.6 million people now referred in, and published evidence demonstrating reduced type 2 diabetes incidence in programme participants and at English population level associated with programme implementation.

He qualified in 1990 from St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, London. In 2019 he was awarded OBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to diabetes and obesity care.