

About YDEF

About YDEF
Young Diabetologists & Endocrinologists’ Forum is the trainee & young consultants’ wing of Diabetes UK and is supported by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists & Society for Endocrinology.

Ready to Help Change the Way you Learn.
We organise a wide variety of national training events each year, details of which are available on the ‘Courses’ page of this website. These courses are unique and held in high regard; they continue to attract some of the most influential figures in UK Diabetes. Recent speakers have included Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity & Diabetes and Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England.

Ready to Help Change the Way you Learn.
We organise a wide variety of national training events each year, details of which are available on the ‘Courses’ page of this website. These courses are unique and held in high regard; they continue to attract some of the most influential figures in UK Diabetes. Recent speakers have included Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity & Diabetes and Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England.
Who we are…
Young Diabetologists & Endocrinologists’ Forum is the trainee and young consultants’ wing of Diabetes UK and is supported by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists and Society for Endocrinology. We serve three core functions for our members – education, advocacy and support.
Our mission is to enable high quality care for people with diabetes and endocrine conditions by delivering excellence in specialist education and providing an effective voice for our members. We organise a wide variety of national training events each year, the details of which are enclosed in this brochure. These courses are unique and held in high regard; they continue to attract some of the most influential figures in UK Diabetes. Recent speakers have included Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity & Diabetes and Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England.
The YDEF also represents the interests of specialist trainees at a number of national organisations including the Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) of the Royal Colleges.
Our key link to our members is through our website www.youngdiabetologists.org (this site) which highlights all of our events along with, information and useful links and is currently generating over 1.5 million hits per year.
We are very happy to share information that is relevant to a country wide trainee audience. We can advertise locum and substantive consultant jobs as well as research or teaching fellowships. We aim to keep trainees updated with a newsletter sent on the second Monday in alternate months. Reasonable requests for inclusion in the newsletter must be emailed to us before the 1st of the month to be guaranteed inclusion.
Previous Committee Chairs & Current Positions
- Current chair – Giulia Argentesi
- Deputy chair – Tim Robbins
- Current treasurer – Meera Ladwa
- Current secretary – Aaisha Saqib
- Previous chairs – Najaf Haider, Clare Whicher, Myuri, Moorthy, Amar Puttanna, Muna Nwokolo, Ali Chakera, Hermione Price, Emma Wilmot, Partha Kar, Milan Piya, Stuart Little, Pratik Choudhary, Jyothis George, Marc Atkin, Dipesh Patel, Peter Senior and Liz McIntyre

Giulia Argentesi
Clinical Research Fellow - North East London
g.argentesi @ nhs.net
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More Information
Giulia graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2010 and is a specialist registrar in Diabetes and Endocrinology and General Internal Medicine in the North Central London Deanery.

Tim Robbins
Academic SpR - West Midlands
t.robbins.2 @ warwick.ac.uk
Close Tab Here
More Information
Dr Tim Robbins is a Diabetes & Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands and is our current deputy chair. He is currently Out of Programme to pursue a PhD with the Institute of Digital Healthcare at The University of Warwick. He is motivated to understand how process changes can improve care for patients with diabetes at both the community and inpatient level. He has a strong interest in medical education and is a Trainee Representative for Diabetes & Endocrine Trainees in the West Midlands.

Meera Ladwa
Specialty Doctor Diabetic Medicine - North East London
meera.ladwa @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Meera is clinical lead for Young Adult Diabetes at Newham University Hospital and current YDEF Treasurer. She is keen to improve trainee access to educational and research opportunities.

Aasiha Saqib
ST7 Trainee - South London
aaishasaqib @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Aaisha is currently working as the RCP Chief Registrar in Medway Hospital in Kent as OOPT. She completed her under graduate training from King Edward Medical University, Pakistan in 2010 and moved to UK the same year. After finishing her Foundation Program from South Thames foundation school and Core Medical training in 2016, she has been working as a higher specialist trainee in South London Deanery. She is passionate about quality improvement and clinical leadership and has won two local and one regional award for this.

Fahad Arshad
ST7 Trainee - South Yorkshire
m.arshad @ sheffield.ac.uk
Close Tab Here
More Information
Fahad is a senior endocrine trainee in Sheffield, and is currently out of program doing research. His area of interest in the effect of hypoglycaemia on inflammation and thrombosis. He also works with GMC as an examiner for PLAB exams.

Becky Sagar
Clinical Research Fellow - West Yorkshire
rebeccaclaire.sagar @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Becky graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2015 and came to Leeds for an academic foundation programme job. She then completed core medical training in Leeds and further developed her interest in Diabetes & Endocrinology. She is currently Out of Programme to complete a Ph.D and also enjoys teaching undergraduate medical students, particularly on their final year D&E rotation.

Anne DeBray
ST7 Trainee - West Midlands
anne.debray @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Annie graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2012 and is currently a Diabetes and Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands and DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford. Her first 3 years of specialty training involved research as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship where she has explored beta cell function and maturity and her PhD project centres around GIP and GLP1 activity in islets. She is passionate about teaching, regularly teaching undergraduates and postgraduates (whilst trying to persuade them to choose Diabetes and Endocrinology as their specialty!). She is currently organising the YDEF Obesity and ABC of D&E courses.

Tom Crabtree
Clinical Research Fellow - East Midlands
t.crabtree @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Tom Crabtree is a specialist registrar (ST-something) and clinical research fellow working in the East Midlands and currently based in Derby. Tom is currently undertaking research projects and working with ABCD on its nationwide audit programmes with responsibility for the DIY APS, Closed-Loop and upcoming OmniPod audit. His other research interests include database work and epidemiological studies with real-world data. Current YDEF responsibilities include representing registrar interests at the SAC, ABCD and BMA and is part of the team running the Technology course. Tom is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and will be working on the new gender identity course.

Peter Jacob
ST6 Trainee- North East London
peter.jacob @ nhs.net
ydef.ltft @ gmail.com
Close Tab Here
More Information
Peter is a less than full time trainee in the North East London Deanery and has specialist interests in diabetes technology and hypoglycaemia. He currently holds the YDEF newsletter and website roles. Peter is also happy to be contacted to help navigate LTFT training issues.

Harriet Esdaile
ST5 Trainee- North West London
h.esdaile @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Harriet graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2014. She is a specialist registrar in Diabetes and Endocrinology and General Internal Medicine in the North West Thames deanery, and a deanery trainee representative. Harriet is currently out of programme as a clinical research fellow at Imperial College London completing a PhD.

Layla Thurston
Clinical Research Fellow- North West London
layla.thurston @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Layla graduated from the University of Manchester in 2013 in Medicine with European Studies. She commenced her specialist training in Diabetes and Endocrinology in the North West Thames deanery in 2017. Layla is currently out of programme, researching the melanocortin-4 receptor, as part of her PhD in neuroendocrinology at Imperial College London. She is passionate about teaching and is a PACES tutor. Within the committee, she organises the YDEF Day
Who we are…
Young Diabetologists & Endocrinologists’ Forum is the trainee and young consultants’ wing of Diabetes UK and is supported by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists and Society for Endocrinology. We serve three core functions for our members – education, advocacy and support.
Our mission is to enable high quality care for people with diabetes and endocrine conditions by delivering excellence in specialist education and providing an effective voice for our members. We organise a wide variety of national training events each year, the details of which are enclosed in this brochure. These courses are unique and held in high regard; they continue to attract some of the most influential figures in UK Diabetes. Recent speakers have included Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity & Diabetes and Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England.
The YDEF also represents the interests of specialist trainees at a number of national organisations including the Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) of the Royal Colleges.
Our key link to our members is through our website www.youngdiabetologists.org (this site) which highlights all of our events along with, information and useful links and is currently generating over 1.5 million hits per year.
We are very happy to share information that is relevant to a country wide trainee audience. We can advertise locum and substantive consultant jobs as well as research or teaching fellowships. We aim to keep trainees updated with a newsletter sent on the second Monday in alternate months. Reasonable requests for inclusion in the newsletter must be emailed to us before the 1st of the month to be guaranteed inclusion.
Previous Committee Chairs & Current Positions
- Current chair – Giulia Argentesi
- Deputy chair – TIm Robbins
- Current treasurer – Meera Ladwa
- Current secretary – Aaisha Saqib
- Previous chairs – Najaf Haider, Clare Whicher, Myuri Moorthy, Amar Puttanna, Muna Nwokolo, Ali Chakera, Hermione Price, Emma Wilmot, Partha Kar, Milan Piya, Stuart Little, Pratik Choudhary, Jyothis George, Marc Atkin, Dipesh Patel, Peter Senior and Liz McIntyre

Giulia Argentesi
Clinical Research Fellow - North East London
g.argentesi @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Giulia graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2010 and is a specialist registrar in Diabetes and Endocrinology and General Internal Medicine in the North Central London Deanery.

Tim Robbins
Academic SpR - West Midlands
t.robbins.2 @ warwick.ac.uk
Close Tab Here
More Information
Dr Tim Robbins is a Diabetes & Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands and is our current deputy chair. He is currently Out of Programme to pursue a PhD with the Institute of Digital Healthcare at The University of Warwick. He is motivated to understand how process changes can improve care for patients with diabetes at both the community and inpatient level. He has a strong interest in medical education and is a Trainee Representative for Diabetes & Endocrine Trainees in the West Midlands.

Meera Ladwa
Specialty Doctor Diabetic Medicine - North East London
meera.ladwa @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Meera is clinical lead for Young Adult Diabetes at Newham University Hospital and current YDEF Treasurer. She is keen to improve trainee access to educational and research opportunities.

Aasiha Saqib
ST7 Trainee - South London
aaishasaqib @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Aaisha is currently working as the RCP Chief Registrar in Medway Hospital in Kent as OOPT. She completed her under graduate training from King Edward Medical University, Pakistan in 2010 and moved to UK the same year. After finishing her Foundation Program from South Thames foundation school and Core Medical training in 2016, she has been working as a higher specialist trainee in South London Deanery. She is passionate about quality improvement and clinical leadership and has won two local and one regional award for this.

Fahad Arshad
ST7 Trainee - South Yorkshire
m.arshad @ sheffield.ac.uk
Close Tab Here
More Information
Fahad is a senior endocrine trainee in Sheffield, and is currently out of program doing research. His area of interest in the effect of hypoglycaemia on inflammation and thrombosis. He also works with GMC as an examiner for PLAB exams.

Becky Sagar
Clinical Research Fellow - West Yorkshire
rebeccaclaire.sagar @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Becky graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2015 and came to Leeds for an academic foundation programme job. She then completed core medical training in Leeds and further developed her interest in Diabetes & Endocrinology. She is currently Out of Programme to complete a Ph.D and also enjoys teaching undergraduate medical students, particularly on their final year D&E rotation.

Anne DeBray
ST7 Trainee - West Midlands
anne.debray @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Annie graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2012 and is currently a Diabetes and Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands and DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford. Her first 3 years of specialty training involved research as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship where she has explored beta cell function and maturity and her PhD project centres around GIP and GLP1 activity in islets. She is passionate about teaching, regularly teaching undergraduates and postgraduates (whilst trying to persuade them to choose Diabetes and Endocrinology as their specialty!). She is currently organising the YDEF Obesity and ABC of D&E courses.

Tom Crabtree
Clinical Research Fellow - East Midlands
t.crabtree @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Tom Crabtree is a specialist registrar (ST-something) and clinical research fellow working in the East Midlands and currently based in Derby. Tom is currently undertaking research projects and working with ABCD on its nationwide audit programmes with responsibility for the DIY APS, Closed-Loop and upcoming OmniPod audit. His other research interests include database work and epidemiological studies with real-world data. Current YDEF responsibilities include representing registrar interests at the SAC, ABCD and BMA and is part of the team running the Technology course. Tom is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and will be working on the new gender identity course.

Peter Jacob
ST6 Trainee- North East London
peter.jacob @ nhs.net
ydef.ltft @ gmail.com
Close Tab Here
More Information
Peter is a less than full time trainee in the North East London Deanery and has specialist interests in diabetes technology and hypoglycaemia. He currently holds the YDEF newsletter and website roles. Peter is also happy to be contacted to help navigate LTFT training issues.

Harriet Esdaile
ST5 Trainee- North West London
h.esdaile @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Harriet graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2014. She is a specialist registrar in Diabetes and Endocrinology and General Internal Medicine in the North West Thames deanery, and a deanery trainee representative. Harriet is currently out of programme as a clinical research fellow at Imperial College London completing a PhD.

Layla Thurston
Clinical Research Fellow- North West London
layla.thurston @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Layla graduated from the University of Manchester in 2013 in Medicine with European Studies. She commenced her specialist training in Diabetes and Endocrinology in the North West Thames deanery in 2017. Layla is currently out of programme, researching the melanocortin-4 receptor, as part of her PhD in neuroendocrinology at Imperial College London. She is passionate about teaching and is a PACES tutor. Within the committee, she organises the YDEF Day
Ready to Help Change the Way you Learn.
We organise a wide variety of national training events each year, details of which are available on the ‘Courses’ page of this website. These courses are unique and held in high regard; they continue to attract some of the most influential figures in UK Diabetes. Recent speakers have included Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity & Diabetes and Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England.
Who we are…
Young Diabetologists & Endocrinologists’ Forum is the trainee and young consultants’ wing of Diabetes UK and is supported by the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists and Society for Endocrinology. We serve three core functions for our members – education, advocacy and support.
Our mission is to enable high quality care for people with diabetes and endocrine conditions by delivering excellence in specialist education and providing an effective voice for our members. We organise a wide variety of national training events each year, the details of which are enclosed in this brochure. These courses are unique and held in high regard; they continue to attract some of the most influential figures in UK Diabetes. Recent speakers have included Professor Jonathan Valabhji, NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity & Diabetes and Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of NHS England.
The YDEF also represents the interests of specialist trainees at a number of national organisations including the Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) of the Royal Colleges.
Our key link to our members is through our website www.youngdiabetologists.org (this site) which highlights all of our events along wit, information and useful links and is currently generating over 1.5 million hits per year.
We are very happy to share information that is relevant to a country wide trainee audience. We can advertise locum and substantive consultant jobs as well as research or teaching fellowships. We aim to keep trainees updated with a newsletter sent on the second Monday in alternate months. Reasonable requests for inclusion in the newsletter must be emailed to us before the 1st of the month to be guaranteed inclusion.
Previous Committee Chairs & Current Positions
- Current chair – Giulia Argentesi
- Deputy chair – TIm Robbins
- Current treasurer – Meera Ladwa
- Current secretary – Aaisha Saqib
- Previous chairs – Najaf Haider, Clare Whicher, Myuri Moorthy, Amar Puttanna, Muna Nwokolo, Ali Chakera, Hermione Price, Emma Wilmot, Partha Kar, Milan Piya, Stuart Little, Pratik Choudhary, Jyothis George, Marc Atkin, Dipesh Patel, Peter Senior and Liz McIntyre

Giulia Argentesi
Clinical Research Fellow - North East London
g.argentesi @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Giulia graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2010 and is a specialist registrar in Diabetes and Endocrinology and General Internal Medicine in the North Central London Deanery.

Tim Robbins
Academic SpR - West Midlands
t.robbins.2 @ warwick.ac.uk
Close Tab Here
More Information
Dr Tim Robbins is a Diabetes & Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands and is our current deputy chair. He is currently Out of Programme to pursue a PhD with the Institute of Digital Healthcare at The University of Warwick. He is motivated to understand how process changes can improve care for patients with diabetes at both the community and inpatient level. He has a strong interest in medical education and is a Trainee Representative for Diabetes & Endocrine Trainees in the West Midlands.

Meera Ladwa
Specialty Doctor Diabetic Medicine - North East London
meera.ladwa @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Meera is clinical lead for Young Adult Diabetes at Newham University Hospital and current YDEF Treasurer. She is keen to improve trainee access to educational and research opportunities.

Aaisha Saqib
Trainee - South London Deanery
aaishasaqib @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Aaisha is currently working as the RCP Chief Registrar in Medway Hospital in Kent as OOPT. She completed her under graduate training from King Edward Medical University, Pakistan in 2010 and moved to UK the same year. After finishing her Foundation Program from South Thames foundation school and Core Medical training in 2016, she has been working as a higher specialist trainee in South London Deanery. She is passionate about quality improvement and clinical leadership and has won two local and one regional award for this.

Fahad Arshad
ST7 Trainee - South Yorkshire
m.arshad @ sheffield.ac.uk
Close Tab Here
More Information
Fahad is a senior endocrine trainee in Sheffield, and is currently out of program doing research. His area of interest in the effect of hypoglycaemia on inflammation and thrombosis. He also works with GMC as an examiner for PLAB exams.

Becky Sagar
Clinical Research Fellow - West Yorkshire
rebeccaclaire.sagar @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Annie graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2012 and is currently a Diabetes and Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands. Her first 3 years of specialty training involved research as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship where she has explored beta cell function and maturity. She is passionate about teaching, regularly teaching undergraduates and postgraduates (whilst trying to persuade them to choose Diabetes and Endocrinology as their specialty!). She is currently organising the YDEF Obesity and ABC of D&E courses.

Anne DeBray
ST6 Trainee - West Midlands
anne.debray @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Annie graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2012 and is currently a Diabetes and Endocrine SpR in the West Midlands. Her first 3 years of specialty training involved research as part of an Academic Clinical Fellowship where she has explored beta cell function and maturity. She is passionate about teaching, regularly teaching undergraduates and postgraduates (whilst trying to persuade them to choose Diabetes and Endocrinology as their specialty!). She is currently organising the YDEF Obesity and ABC of D&E courses.

Tom Crabtree
Clinical Research Fellow - East Midlands
t.crabtree @ nhs.net
Close Tab Here
More Information
Tom Crabtree is a specialist registrar (ST-something) and clinical research fellow working in the East Midlands and currently based in Derby. Tom is currently undertaking research projects and working with ABCD on its nationwide audit programmes with responsibility for the DIY APS, Closed-Loop and upcoming OmniPod audit. His other research interests include database work and epidemiological studies with real-world data. Current YDEF responsibilities include representing registrar interests at the SAC, ABCD and BMA and is part of the team running the Technology course. Tom is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and will be working on the new gender identity course.

Peter Jacob
ST6 Trainee- North East London
peter.jacob @ nhs.net
ydef.ltft @ gmail.com
Close Tab Here
More Information
Peter is a less than full time trainee in the North East London Deanery and has specialist interests in diabetes technology and hypoglycaemia. He currently holds the YDEF newsletter and website roles. Peter is also happy to be contacted to help navigate LTFT training issues.

FAQ’s About YDEF
Below are the most common questions answered in advance. We hope it helps you.
How can I contact YDEF?
You can contact us at:
General enquiries: info @ youngdiabetologists.org.uk or twitter @youngdiab
Pump Course Queries: ydefpumpcourse @ gmail.com
Tim Robbins: t.robbins.2 @ warwick.ac.uk or twitter @Dr_Tim_Robbins
Najaf Haider: najaf.haider @ porthosp.nhs.uk or twitter @najafhaider
How old is YDEF?
Can I attend these meetings with or on behalf of a YDEF representative?
Is YDEF free to join?
How can I get more involved with YDEF?
Do we support trainees going to international conferences?
How is YDEF funded?
What meetings or committees do YDEF sit on to represent D&E trainees?

FAQ’s About YDEF
Below are the most common questions answered in advance. We hope it helps you.
How old is YDEF?
Can I attend these meetings with or on behalf of a YDEF representative?
Is YDEF free to join?
How can I get more involved with YDEF?
Do we support trainees going to international conferences?
How is YDEF funded?
What meetings or committees do YDEF sit on to represent D&E trainees?
“The YDEF is an impressive organisation that fills a vital gap for trainees in diabetes by offering them high-quality training opportunities. The YDEF also provides a central voice for specialist trainees that is a powerful source of advocacy for their career interests.”
“The YDEF is an impressive organisation that fills a vital gap for trainees in diabetes by offering them high-quality training opportunities. The YDEF also provides a central voice for specialist trainees that is a powerful source of advocacy for their career interests.”
Become a member today!
Address:
Address: Wells Lawrence House, 26 Back Church Lane, London, UK, E1 1FH
Charity Details:
Young Diabetologists & Endocrinologists’ Forum.
England (no. 215199)
Scotland (no. SC039136)
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