Sarah Finer

Professor Sarah Finer is a Clinical Professor in Diabetes at Queen Mary University of London and an Honorary Consultant in Diabetes at Barts Health NHS Trust. She leads the Genes & Health study, a £28M initiative focused on British Bangladeshi and Pakistani populations, involving over 55,000 participants. Her interdisciplinary research integrates genomics, epidemiology, and real-world data to improve diabetes prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. She holds a MBBS from University College London and a PhD from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Her work emphasizes precision medicine and health services research, with grants from Wellcome Trust and MRC. She mentors a diverse team, including Dr. Sam Hodgson and Ms. Jing Hui Law, and collaborates with experts like Prof. Rohini Mathur. Awards include the Wellcome Trust Discovery Award and MRC Clinical Training Fellowship. Her clinical practice focuses on type 1 diabetes, complex type 2 cases, and diabetes in pregnancy.

Education:

• MBBS, University College London
• PhD, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry

Research Interests: Sarah’s work spans genomics, epidemiology, and health services research. She investigates genetic and environmental factors influencing diabetes in diverse populations, with a focus on early-onset cases and precision diagnosis. Her team explores polygenic risk scores, ethnic disparities, and translational strategies to improve healthcare systems.

Awards & Grants: Recent grants include a £4.5M Wellcome Trust Discovery Award (2024–2032) and MRC funding for the Genes & Health Longitudinal Study (£2.5M). She has received £579,000 from MRC for research on multimorbidity in South Asians.

Advising & Labs: She supervises PhD students in clinical and population health research. Her team collaborates with the Wolfson Institute’s centers, including the Centre for Public Health and Policy. Ongoing projects include the Genes & Health initiative and studies on T2D subtyping.

Labs/Teams: Works closely with the NIHR School for Primary Care Research and academic partners at Queen Mary, fostering a culture of mentorship and work-life balance.