Dr Lydia Daniels Gatward is a Research Fellow in the Department of Diabetes and Obesity, School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences. 

Lydia obtained a first class integrated master’s degree in Biological Sciences (University College London) and a distinction master’s degree in Biomedical and Translational Sciences (King’s College London) before obtaining a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and Diabetes from King’s College London. Her PhD was under the supervision of Professor Aileen King and focused on characterising the KINGS mouse as a model of beta cell endoplasmic reticulum stress and sex differences in diabetes. She continued this research as a post-doctoral associate. 

Lydia’s current project is funded by the Steve Morgan Foundation and focusses on improving the functional survival of stem-cell derived islets. Lydia's skillset includes small animal surgery (including islet transplantation, ovariectomy, orchidectomy and subcutaneous implantation of slow-release devices), in vivo metabolic testing (including glucose and insulin tolerance testing and blood glucose concentration monitoring), mouse colony maintenance, rodent islet isolation and culture, in vitro assessment of islet function (including insulin secretion assays) and immunohistochemistry techniques.

Lydia also teaches and demonstrates on a variety of undergraduate and master’s modules including animal models of disease and statistics.