24 Nov 2025
Over the summer, the Selection Panel selected this year’s 7 new Leadership & Development Awardees. We are pleased to announce that we have a broad range of early-mid career scientists, clinical academics, clinicians-in-practice and for excitingly, for the first time ever, we have a nurse awardee. They have all recently started their 3-year programme as of 1 November.
The Leadership & Development Awards Programme is designed to recognise and nurture emerging talent in endocrinology to become the future leaders of our discipline.
This programme was devised as part of the Society’s strategy to advance and support endocrinology and will provide a wide range of opportunities and support for early career endocrinology professionals to enable them to develop naturally into future leaders of our discipline.
Join us in congratulating our 2025 Awardees, who will receive a wide range of benefits, providing opportunities for them to develop their careers and professional profiles.
Watch out for updates on their progress over the next 3 years and read more about our 7 new Leadership & Development Awardees below.
Dr Ahmad Al-Mrabeh
Dr Ahmad Al-Mrabeh is MRC Career Development Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He is interested in translational medicine approaches for diabetes remission. Dr. Al-Mrabeh group is currently working on the mechanisms of reversible pancreas lipotoxicity in type 2 diabetes with particular focus on the role of hepatic de novo lipogenesis.
Aldons Chua
Aldons Chua is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, with expertise in adrenal disorders and multiple endocrine neoplasia. He is an independent nurse prescriber with a master’s degree in clinical research. Additionally, he actively participates in regional, national, and European endocrine networks. His research focuses on enhancing patient self-management strategies and advancing endocrine nursing practice.
Kerri Devine
Having qualified in Glasgow, Kerri trained in the North East, where she also obtained her PhD with Brian Walker, exploring tissue-specific regulation of glucocorticoids. She delivers a regional reproductive endocrinology service, including induction of puberty and spermatogenesis, and has a clinical interest in the care of women with Turner syndrome.
Kate Laycock
Kate is an Endocrinology Registrar in NE London. During her clinical training she undertook a PhD in endocrine hypertension where she investigated the cell of origin of aldosterone producing adenomas. She has worked on large clinical trials in primary aldosteronism. Kate will take on a NIHR Clinical Lecturer post from September 2025.
Ben Loughrey
Ben is an academic clinical lecturer in Belfast due to obtain his CCT in August 2025. His research interest is pituitary neuroendocrine tumours/adenomas; particularly the application of digital pathology to assess biomarkers in these tumours and the role of AIP mutations in pituitary tumorigenesis.
Dr. Rebecca Sagar
Dr. Rebecca Sagar is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer and Specialist Registrar in Endocrinology at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. She undertook a PhD investigating the effects of insulin resistance on platelet function and has an interest in glucocorticoid related multi-morbidity. Alongside her research and clinical work, Dr. Sagar is also current Chair of Young Diabetologists & Endocrinologists’ Forum (YDEF).
Lisa Yang
Lisa completed her specialist training in North-West London as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow. She was awarded an MRC clinical research training fellowship to complete her PhD in Reproductive Neuroendocrinology at Imperial College London. Her research has led to award-winning presentations and numerous publications. Lisa leads specialist clinics in reproductive endocrinology and has active research interests in adrenal disorders and congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Do you want to learn more about the aims and benefits of the programme?
Discover the benefits of participating in the Awards Programme. If you have any questions, please email awards@endocrinology.org.