Meet Professor Jonathan Valabhji
What course do you teach on and what is your role?
I am Co-Director of the MRes in Clinical Research.
How has your career led you to teaching?
I started teaching during the 1990s when I was a trainee myself in General Medicine, Diabetes and Endocrinology, and have continued teaching during subsequent years in each of my roles: as a specialist, as a national leader, and as a clinical academic. I have always enjoyed teaching, whether teaching individual medical students or specialist trainees in outpatient clinical settings, small groups on ward rounds, groups for tutorials and seminars, or larger audiences in the more formal lecture theatre setting. As a consultant physician and diabetologist, I acted for many years as a clinical and educational supervisor. In my national leadership roles, I have supported clinical fellows to develop leadership skills, and have also had opportunities to convey knowledge in different formats to healthcare professionals, people living with diabetes, NHS managers and leaders in healthcare, industry representatives, politicians and policy makers.
What aspect of the course do you enjoy teaching the most?
I have taken up my role teaching on the course only this year, but have always enjoyed small group interactions the most.
What do you hope your students will go on to achieve on completion of this course?
I would like our students to emerge confident and competent in the conduct and appraisal of research methodology and in the interpretation of research outputs, empowered to fulfil their ambitions. I also hope that I can provide our students with additional insights into clinical research and its interface with population health, related to my own experiences of implementation of interventions at scale across the country and evaluation of those interventions using real-world clinical datasets.
What is your favourite part about teaching at Imperial College London?
Teaching involves some of the most stimulating and enjoyable parts of my professional life, and Imperial is a fantastic environment in which to both teach and learn.