Long-term Remission: Lessons Learned from DiRECT

Roy Taylor qualified in medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and is Professor of Medicine at Newcastle University. He founded the Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre in 2006 to develop innovative research techniques. Using these new methods, he showed that his 2008 Twin Cycle Hypothesis could be proven in clinical practice. Type 2 diabetes was shown to be a simple, reversible condition of excess fat within liver and pancreas. Subsequently he has extended these observations on the cause of type 2 diabetes and how remission can be achieved. This has led to practical application in the NHS with the national ‘NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission’ programme now well underway.

Between 1986 and 2000, Professor Taylor developed the system now used throughout the United Kingdom for screening for diabetic eye disease, with major reduction in blindness due to diabetes across the UK.

He has published books in lay language explaining type 2 diabetes (eg ‘Life Without Diabetes’) plus training books on retinal screening. He has been invited to deliver many named lectures. He received the 2023 Robert Turner Award for Research Impact and the 2024 Rank Nutrition Prize jointly.