Dr Suma Uday MBBS, FRCPCH, PhD

Dr Suma Uday

Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, IMSR
Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic
Bone Disease, BWCH

Contact details

Suma is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in IMSR and a consultant endocrinologist with an expertise in metabolic bone disease at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Her research focuses on vitamin D deficiency and its impact on public health policies. She has an interest in health inequalities and its impact on healthcare outcomes in children with bone disease and diabetes.

Suma’s interest in rare bone diseases include nutritional and non-nutritional forms of rickets and osteomalacia. Her research methodologies have included quantitative growth plate histology, in depth analysis of bone histomorphometry and mechanical testing of bone strength using three-point bending tests.

Her other key areas of research interest include maternal and newborn bone health, childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Suma treasures her national and international collaborations. She is a keen mentor and has supported several medical students and allied health professionals with various projects resulting in National and international presentations and publications in peer reviewed medical journals.

ORCID: 0000-0002-7278-0734

Qualifications

  • PhD in Nutritional Rickets and Osteomalacia, University of Birmingham, 2022
  • MMedSci in Child Health, University of Leeds, 2014
  • MBBS, Rajiv Gandhi University, Bangalore, 2004

Biography

Suma obtained her basic medical qualification from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India in 2004. She subsequently moved to the UK in 2004 and undertook specialist run through training in Paediatrics in the Yorkshire deanery followed by national GRID training in endocrinology and diabetes at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Alongside her GRID training she completed a PhD under the supervision of Professors Wolfgang Hoegler and Martin Hewison. She is the recipient of the Global Challenges PhD scholarship and her study focused on the burden of vitamin D deficiency, nutritional rickets and osteomalacia in UK children and its implications on public health policies.

After completion of training she was appointed as a consultant in diabetes, endocrinology and metabolic bone disease at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital in May 2019.

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

PhD co-supervisor: 2021- Thesis exploring the effects of Ramadan fasting on metabolic syndrome

Intercalating medical student supervisor:

2022: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children with Brittle bone disease

2019: Ethnic and seasonal variation in vitamin D deficiency in newborns 

Suma is very keen to supervise medical students as well as doctoral research students in the following areas:

  • Paediatric metabolic bone disease
  • Vitamin D deficiency and bone health
  • Public health aspects of vitamin D supplementation policies
  • Childhood obesity and Metabolic syndrome including type 2 diabetes
  • Other aspects of Clinical Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes
If you are interested in studying any of these subject areas please contact Suma on the contact details above

Research

Vitamin D deficiency

Suma’s research is based around the health impact of vitamin D deficiency in ethnic minorities. Her research focuses on exploring the hidden burden of nutritional rickets and osteomalacia due to vitamin D deficiency and its impact on public health policies.

Rare bone disease

Suma has researched the phenotype genotype correlation in hypophosphatasia using invitro mineralisation techniques

Suma is the local PI for the international XLH registry and has a research interest in the area.

Diabetes

Suma has a keen interest in research addressing health inequalities in diabetes care and outcomes. She is a co-applicant on an NIHR grant addressing health inequalities in diabetes care in UK children.

Suma has a specific interest in the interplay between type 2 diabetes and obesity in childhood.

Research Groups and Centres

Diversity in Diabetes – Improving treatment outcomes for children and young people with diabetes

Other activities

Type 2 diabetes lead, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Inclusion champion and inclusive panel member at BWCH

Advisory board member of the International Hypophosphataemia Network

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Al-Daghri, NM, Sabico, S, Wani, K, Hussain, SD, Yakout, S, Aljohani, N, Uday, S & Högler, W 2023, 'Association of bone mineralization markers with dietary nutrient intake in adolescents with and without biochemical osteomalacia', Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 10, 1206711. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1206711

Pieridou, C, Sabir, A, Lancashire, J, Liang, Y, Mcmillan, K, Shaw, N & Uday, S 2023, 'Case Report: Osteosclerotic metaphyseal dysplasia with optic nerve involvement and progressive osteonecrosis of the jaw due to a novel LRRK1 mutation', Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 14, 1258340. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1258340

Pemberton, JS, Gupta, A, Lau, GM, Dickinson, I, Iyer, PV & Uday, S 2023, 'Integrating Physical Activity Strategies to Lower Hyperglycaemia in Structured Education Programmes for Children and Young People with Type 1 Diabetes Improves Glycaemic Control without Augmenting the Risk of Hypoglycaemia', Pediatric Diabetes, vol. 2023, 2519368. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/2519368

Voraberger, B, Mayr, JA, Fratzl-Zelman, N, Blouin, S, Uday, S, Kopajtich, R, Koedam, M, Hödlmayr, H, Wortmann, SB, Csillag, B, Prokisch, H, van der Eerden, BCJ, El-Gazzar, A & Högler, W 2023, 'Investigating the role of ASCC1 in the causation of bone fragility', Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 14, 1137573. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1137573

Pieridou, C & Uday, S 2023, 'Nutritional rickets presenting with developmental regression: a rare presentation of rickets', BMC Pediatrics, vol. 23, no. 1, 330. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-023-04127-6

Uday, S & Högler, W 2022, 'The burden of vitamin D deficiency in household members of children presenting with symptomatic vitamin D deficiency', Frontiers in Endocrinology, vol. 13, 958422. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.958422

Darren, A, Osman, M, Masilamani, K, Habib Ali, S, Kanthimathinathan, HK, Chikermane, A, Al-Abadi, E, Welch, SB, Hackett, S, Scholefield, BR, Uday, S & Jyothish, D 2022, 'Vitamin D status of children with paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (PIMS-TS)', The British journal of nutrition, vol. 127, no. 6, pp. 896-903. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114521001562

Pemberton, JS, Kershaw, M, Dias, R, Idkowiak, J, Mohamed, Z, Saraff, V, Barrett, TG, Krone, R & Uday, S 2021, 'DYNAMIC: dynamic glucose management strategies delivered through a structured education program improves time in range in a socioeconomically deprived cohort of children and young people with type 1 diabetes with a history of hypoglycemia', Pediatric Diabetes, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 249-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.13155

Uday, S, Sakka, S, Davies, J, Randell, TL, Arya, V, Brain, C, Tighe, M, Allgrove, J, Arundel, P, Pryce, R, Högler, W & Shaw, NJ 2018, 'Elemental formula associated hypophosphataemic rickets.', Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2018.09.028

Uday, S & Högler, W 2017, 'Erratum to: Nutritional Rickets and Osteomalacia in the Twenty-first Century: Revised Concepts, Public Health, and Prevention Strategies', Current Osteoporosis Reports, vol. 15, no. 5, 507. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-017-0395-7

Uday, S, Gorman, S, Feltbower, RG & Mathai, M 2017, 'Ethnic variation in the correlation between waist to height ratio and total daily insulin requirement in children with type 1 diabetes: a cross-sectional study', Pediatric Diabetes, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 128-135. https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.12363

Uday, S, Shaw, N, Krone, R & Kirk, J 2017, 'Hypopituitarism in children with cerebral palsy', Archives of Disease in Childhood, vol. 102, no. 6, pp. 559-561. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2016-311012

Comment/debate

Uday, S & Högler, W 2022, 'To Supplement or Not to Supplement With the Sunshine Vitamin in Sunny Countries?', Indian pediatrics, vol. 59, no. 11, pp. 835-836. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-022-2638-7

Review article

Gjerde, J (ed.), Joshi, M & Uday, S 2023, 'Vitamin D Deficiency in Chronic Childhood Disorders: Importance of Screening and Prevention', Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 12, 2805. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15122805

Diversity in Diabetes consortium members 2022, 'Developments in the design and delivery of self-management support for children and young people with diabetes: a narrative synthesis of systematic reviews', Diabetic Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.15035