Rate My Professor Shanta Persaud

Professor Shanta Persaud holds the position of Professor of Diabetes & Endocrinology at King’s College London within the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. She is Head of the Guy’s Campus Section of the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences and Head of the Department of Diabetes. Persaud earned a first-class BSc in Physiology & Pharmacology and a PhD investigating the regulation of insulin secretion from islets of Langerhans at King’s College London between 1986 and 1989. Following her doctoral studies, she joined the university as a postdoctoral researcher in 1989 and progressed through various roles over her 35-year career, securing a permanent lectureship after obtaining fellowships and temporary positions. She teaches diabetes and endocrinology to undergraduate BSc students and conducts training workshops for MSc and PhD candidates.

Persaud’s primary research interests center on the molecular mechanisms governing pancreatic islet function, particularly ligand interactions with G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in islets and the downstream signal transduction pathways that control insulin secretion and beta-cell mass regulation. Her group employs advanced techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, CRISPR gene editing, and live-cell imaging to explore human endocrine pancreas development, intercellular cross-talk between metabolically active tissues and islets, and stimulus-secretion coupling in human beta-cells. Leading the Islet Biology Research Group, her work addresses islet dysfunction in type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes, identifies novel therapeutic targets including cannabinoid receptors and adhesion GPCRs, and aims to enhance islet transplantation therapies for type 1 diabetes. Key publications include "Spatiotemporal profiling of adhesion G protein-coupled receptors in developing mouse and human pancreas reveals a role for GPR56 in islet development" (Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 2025), "Global deletion of G protein‐coupled receptor 55 impairs glucose homeostasis during obesity by reducing insulin secretion and β‐cell turnover" (Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2024), "Mouse islet-derived stellate cells are similar to, but distinct from, mesenchymal stromal cells and influence the beta cell function" (Diabetic Medicine, 2024), and "Lipid-induced glucose intolerance is driven by impaired glucose kinetics and insulin metabolism in healthy individuals" (Metabolism, 2022). With over 300 publications and more than 10,000 citations, her research has significant impact in the field. Persaud was awarded the King’s Supervisory Excellence Award in 2023 for the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. In 2023, she secured £4.8 million in funding from the Type 1 Diabetes Grand Challenge for projects developing elite beta-cells for transplantation.