Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE

‘Why are cardiometabolic diseases so common in ethnic minority populations?’

The Tony Mitchell lecture

Professor Kamlesh Khunti CBE, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCGP, FMedSci, LLD

GP in Leicester, Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester, Director of Leicester Diabetes Centre, Director of the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in Applied Research Collaborations (ARC) East Midlands, Director of Centre for Ethnic Health Research and Director of The Real-World Evidence Unit.

Kamlesh leads a programme of work on cardiometabolic diseases and multiple long-term conditions (MLTC). He has published over 1600 peer-reviewed articles. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, NIHR Emeritus Senior Investigator and Member of Academia Europaea. He has won numerous awards nationally and internationally including Diabetes UK Mary MacKinnon Lecture and Arnold Bloom Award, RCGP James Mackenzie Award, International Lilly Leonard Award for Diabetes Research and William Harvey Award. He was awarded the CBE in the 2022 New Year’s Honour’s List for services to health.

His Leicester Diabetes Centre (LDC) has been accredited as an International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Centre of Excellence for Diabetes Care for the eighth year running. He is Director of the first NIHR Global Health Research Centre for Multiple Long-Term Conditions (MLTCs) and Co-lead for the Cross NIHR Collaboration for MLTCs. He is the national NIHR ARC Lead for MLTC and leads the national training programme for MLTCs. He is Senior Vice President of European Association of Study of Diabetes. He was a member of UK Governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and Chair of the SAGE Ethnicity Sub-panel.

Why are cardiometabolic diseases so common in ethnic minority populations?

In his presentation, Kamlesh will explain how cardiometabolic diseases are disproportionately common in ethnic minority populations due to a combination of biological vulnerability, social disadvantage, and healthcare inequalities. Ethnic minority groups develop conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease at a younger age and at lower levels of adiposity, driven by greater insulin resistance and visceral fat. These risks are amplified by socioeconomic deprivation, structural racism, delayed diagnosis, and poorer access to prevention and high‑quality care. Addressing these disparities requires earlier screening, culturally tailored interventions, and health systems designed to meet the needs of diverse populations.

Kamlesh can be followed on Twitter/X: @kamleshkhunti

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