Dr Renuka Dias BMedSci, MBBS, FRCPCH, PhD

Dr Renuka Dias

Department of Applied Health Sciences
125th Anniversary Fellow - Associate Clinical Professor in Paediatric Endocrinology

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0) 121 333 8188
Email
r.dias.1@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@RenukaDias
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Renuka is a qualified clinician by background and is based in the Department of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Birmingham and at the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Birmingham Children’s Hospital (BCH).

Her main research focus is in Type 1 Diabetes and rare disease (specifically Wolfram Syndrome and Thyroid Disorders).  She is specifically focussed on understanding, identifying and managing early Type 1 Diabetes including immunotherapies as well as health inequalities in Type 1 Diabetes.

ORCiD iD: 0000-0002-5743-1077

ResearchGate profile 

Qualifications

  • FRCPCH: Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
  • PhD: Genomic Medicine, Queen Mary University of London
  • MBBS: University of Nottingham
  • BMedSci: University of Nottingham

Biography

Dr Dias received her undergraduate training from the University of Nottingham. She was awarded her PhD in Genomic Medicine titled Epigenetics of Silver Russell Syndrome in 2012 (MRC Funded Research Training Fellowship) and received multiple awards for her PhD research. She completed her clinical training in Paediatric Endocrinology in London (Great Ormond Street Hospital, Royal London Hospital) following her PhD and became a full time NHS consultant in 2014.  

She is the Lead Paediatrician on the ELSA study and the T1DVGPLus study. She is on the Diversity in Diabetes ,SMILE-T1D, LifeArc, TREATWolfram consortium studies. She is part of the EDENT1FI consortium. She is co-chair of the Early Stage Type 1 Children and Young People’s Diabetes network. 

Dr Dias sits on research and policy committees including NIHR, Breakthrough T1D and Diabetes UK. She has also co-led several national training events in early-stage Type 1 Diabetes (including CYP National Network, Early T1D summit and YDEF early T1D meetings). 

She is a co-author on multiple national and international guidelines (ETA, NICE).

Dr Dias has been awarded grants from NIHR, Breakthrough T1D and Diabetes UK for her work in Type 1 Diabetes.

Teaching

Lecture: Human Growth in Health and Disease (RED MBChB2)

Lecture: SGT: Thyroid and Diabetes CEP MBChB1

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Dias is passionate about developing and supporting the next generation of researchers.

Current PhD students:
1. Saskia Dry (2026-): Early Surveillance of Type 1 Diabetes study (ELSA)
2. Simrat Kaur (2026-): Early Surveillance of Type 1 Diabetes study (ELSA)
3. Theodora Papanikalaou (2025-): Physical Activity in Early-Stage Type 1 Diabetes
(EXTEND-IT)

She also supervises Academic Clinical Lecturers and Academic Clinical Fellows.

Research

Dr Dias’s research focusses on Type 1 Diabetes. Her work extends from screening for, and management of, early Type 1 Diabetes including preservation of beta cell function through immunotherapy trials as well as understanding and developing strategies to reduce health 
inequalities in Type 1 Diabetes.

Screening in Early Stage Type 1 Diabetes

Dr Dias is the lead Paediatrician for the ELSA study. She co-leads the Early Stage Type 1 Diabetes network.

She is a member of the EDENT1FI consortium.

Disease Modifying Therapies in Early Type 1 Diabetes

Dr Dias led the ABCD-BSPED consensus guidelines on Teplizumab for the UK and is Lead Paediatrician for the multi-centre T1DVGPlus study  

Health Inequalities

Dr Dias is passionate about reducing health inequalities in care outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes working with the NPDA to understand the gaps in care and how diabetes care for young people needs to evolve with advances in therapies. 

Other activities

Renuka’s clinical interests align with her research interests, and she

  • is the Lead for Paediatric Diabetes at BCH and for the Nationally commissioned Wolfram Syndrome service based in Birmingham
  • is Programme Organising Committee Chair for British Society of Paediatric Endocrinology
  • sits on DRSG7 committee (Diabetes UK)
  • is also medical advisor for AMEND, Wolfram Syndrome UK.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Elliott, J, Kamaleldeen, E, Davis, P, Dias, RP, Boelaert, K & Mohamed, Z 2026, 'An Unusual Presentation of Severe Hypothyroidism in a Child With Undiagnosed Systemic Lupus Erythematous', JCEM Case Reports, vol. 4, no. 1, luaf309. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcemcr/luaf309

Dias, RP, Marcovecchio, ML, Willemsen, RH, Campbell, F, Ashour, A, Newland‐Jones, P, Cooper, J, Narendran, P & Wright, NP 2026, 'Considerations for the clinical use of teplizumab in stage 2 Type 1 diabetes: A Consensus Statement from the British Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (BSPED) and the Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD)', Diabetic Medicine, vol. 43, no. 7, e70329. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.70329

Hanson, H, Snape, K, Dias, RP, Park, S-M, Shaikh, MG, Kurzawinski, TR, Izatt, L, Patel, KA, Korbonits, M & Casey, RT 2026, 'Expert consensus on the reporting and clinical follow up of individuals with incidentally discovered germline RET variants in the UK', Endocrine-related cancer, vol. 33, no. 9, e260194. https://doi.org/10.1530/ERC-26-0194

Boiko, O, Barnard-Kelly, K, Vercauteren, J, Greenfield, S, Dias, R, Quinn, LM, Litchfield, I, Papanikolaou, T, Dunne, JL, Perego, G, Gatti, F, Milano, F, Milazzo, BM, Di Mattei, V, Lange, K, Mathieu, C, Overbergh, L, Ziegler, AG, Hurtado Del Pozo, C, Scarale, MG, Mahieu, A, Omar Alsaleh, AJ, Bosi, E, Narendran, P & EDENT1FI consortium 2026, 'Exploring the psychosocial implications of general population screening for paediatric type 1 diabetes in Europe: Protocol for a mixed-methods study', Diabetic Medicine, vol. 43, no. 6, e70297. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.70297

Quinn, LM, Elliott, J, Papanikolaou, T, Litchfield, I, Boardman, F, Boiko, O, Randell, M, Zakia, F, Garstang, J, Shukla, D, Burt, C, Gkoutos, G, Acharjee, A, Dayan, C, Faustini, S, Bentley, C, Barrett, T, Richter, A, Greenfield, SM, Dias, RP & Narendran, P 2026, 'Feasibility of general population screening for type 1 diabetes in the UK: the ELSA study', The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 197-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(25)00363-8

Rohayem, J, Cunningham, O, Williams, D, Wistuba, J, McCarthy, L, Barrett, TG & Dias, RP 2026, 'Gonadal function in males with WFS1 spectrum disorder (Wolfram syndrome)—A European cohort perspective', Andrology, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 398-410. https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.70049

Homer, V, Brophy, C, French, R, Krayem, A, Perez, SP, Warner, JT & Dias, RP 2026, 'Mind the gap: Ongoing inequalities in glycaemic levels in young people living with Type 1 diabetes across England and Wales', Diabetic Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.70283

Ngamy, T, Statham, L, Smith, B, Smith, JR, Lloyd, J, Clarke, R, Narendran, P, Dias, RP, Andrews, RC & Cockcroft, EJ 2025, 'A mixed methods exploration of the experiences of physical activity providers in supporting children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in the UK', European Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 184, no. 5, 311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-025-06139-z

Cockcroft, EJ, Smith, JR, Lloyd, J, Johnson, L, Pulsford, R, Clarke, R, Narendran, P, Gardener, G, Ngamy, T, Dias, RP & Andrews, RC 2025, 'Examining the Cognitive, Practical, and Emotional Demands of Managing Physical Activity in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes: A Qualitative Study With Adolescents, Parents, and Healthcare Professionals', Pediatric Diabetes, vol. 2025, no. 1, 4578096. https://doi.org/10.1155/pedi/4578096

Comment/debate

Papanikolaou, T, Andrews, RC, Cockcroft, E, Cocks, M, Dias, RP, Hesketh, K, Narendran, P & Dayan, C 2026, 'Early-stage type 1 diabetes: is there a role for lifestyle modifications?', The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, vol. 14, no. 7, pp. 536-538. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(26)00132-4

Letter

Papanikolaou, T, Elliott, J, Sheth, V, Quinn, LM, Narendran, P & Dias, RP 2026, 'From Screening to Delivery of Disease‐Modifying Therapy: Real World Follow‐Up of Children With Early‐Stage Type 1 Diabetes', Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.70689

Review article

Andrews, A, Korbonits, M & Dias, RP 2026, 'Practical approach to managing pituitary gigantism', Archives of Disease in Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2025-329283

Quinn, LM, Stanley, D, Milano, F, Perego, G, Randell, MJ, Gatti, F, Catarinella, A, Dettori, LB, Sheldon, R, Abid, M, Ziegler, AG, Bonifacio, E, Mathieu, C, Peakman, M, Dunne, JL, Hurtado del Pozo, C, Vercauteren, J, Overbergh, L, Bosi, E, Di Mattei, VE, Barnard, K, Lange, K, Dias, RP, Litchfield, I, Greenfield, SM, Boardman, FK, Boiko, O, Narendran, P & EDENT1FI consortium 2026, 'Psychosocial implications, acceptability and ethics of screening for paediatric type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and mixed methods evidence synthesis', Diabetologia, vol. 69, no. 7, pp. 1759-1781. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-026-06717-2

Elliott, J, Quinn, LM, Thrower, SL, Dias, R & Narendran, P 2026, 'What is type 1 diabetes?', Medicine (United Kingdom). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpmed.2026.07.007

Cockcroft, EJ, Chithuranjan, D, Narendran, P, Andrews, RC & Dias, RP 2025, 'Quality of life and physical activity in type 1 diabetes', BMC Pediatrics, vol. 25, no. 1, 345. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05632-6

View all publications in research portal