Rate My Professor Jim Mann

Professor Sir Jim Mann KNZM, MA DM PhD FRACP FFPHM FRSNZ, holds the Edgar Chair in Diabetes Medicine and has been Professor of Medicine and Human Nutrition at the University of Otago since 1988. He earned his MB ChB and PhD from the University of Cape Town in 1967 and 1971, respectively, followed by MA and DM degrees from the University of Oxford in 1975. Prior to Otago, he was a university lecturer in social medicine at Oxford and consultant physician at John Radcliffe Hospital from 1975 to 1987. Concurrently, he serves as Consultant Physician in Endocrinology at Dunedin Hospital, a role held for over 30 years. Mann established the Edgar National Centre for Diabetes Research, now the Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research (EDOR) Centre, where he is co-director. He directs the Healthier Lives National Science Challenge, the NZ-China Non-communicable Diseases Research Collaboration Centre, and previously directed the WHO Collaborating Centre for Human Nutrition. As Principal Investigator for the Riddet Institute, a national Centre of Research Excellence, his work emphasizes the aetiology, prevention, and management of cardiometabolic diseases, with a focus on nutrition related to diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, including epidemiology and prevention strategies.

Mann has authored over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles and 10 books, including Essentials of Human Nutrition. Key publications include 'Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses' (The Lancet, 2019), 'Dietary sugars and body weight: systematic review and meta-analyses' (BMJ, 2013), and 'Whole-Grain Processing and Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Crossover Trial' (2020). He has chaired or contributed to guideline development for numerous international and national organizations on nutrition, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. His contributions have been recognized with awards such as promotion to Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (KNZM, 2022, from CNZM in 2002), University of Otago Distinguished Research Medal (2002), Sir Charles Hercus Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (2004), Distinguished Researcher Award from the Dunedin School of Medicine (2005), Himsworth Award from the Nutrition Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (2012), and Life Membership of the Heart Foundation New Zealand (2025).