Overview

If contacting me regarding sensitive or personal information, please use: m.Shepherd1@nhs.net rather than my University of Exeter email.

Professor Shepherd trained as a Registered General Nurse in London and worked as Diabetes Specialist Nurse (DSN) for eight years prior to moving to Exeter in Devon in 1995 to join the diabetes genetics research team. She gained a PhD in Medical Science in Exeter focussing on attitudes to genetic testing in diabetes in 2000. She has qualifications in Medical Education and Genetic Counselling. She delivered the Janet Kinson award lecture at DUK in 2003, is an Editorial Board member of the European Diabetes Nursing Journal and has over >100 publications (>30 first author). Her interests include the impact of genetic testing in diabetes, particularly the change from long term insulin to tablet treatment, misdiagnosis, patient experience, translating research findings into clinical care and increasing awareness and knowledge of monogenic diabetes amongst health care professionals.

Her role within the department includes research, educational and clinical roles. Her research currently involves identifying patients with monogenic diabetes who have been misdiagnosed as having Type 1 or type 2 diabetes and co-ordinating the transfer of these patients to the most appropriate treatment. She leads the national Genetic Diabetes Nurse project which has been running since 2002 and trains DSNs about the genetics of diabetes so they can raise awareness of monogenic diabetes, identify and support families across the UK. She is also the educational lead for our Clinical Research Facility. She runs monthly monogenic clinics with Professor Andrew Hattersley and is happy to guide clinicians and patients about the management of their monogenic diabetes. She has also been appointed as one of the national NIHR70@70 Senior Nurse Research Leaders and wihtin that role aims to increase the profile and delivery of high quality research amongst nurses and midwives and is developing strategies to bridge the gap between clinical care and research

Broad research specialisms

• Monogenic Diabetes (including misdiagnosis)
• Qualitative Research

Qualifications

• RGN
• PhD

Links

• Diabetesgenes.org

Research group links

• Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science

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Research

Research interests

• The impact of genetic testing in diabetes, particularly the change from long term insulin to tablet treatment, misdiagnosis and patient experience.
• Using Urinary c-peptide creatinine ratio (UCPCR) , Pancreatic antibodies and Genetic testing to aid diagnosis
• Translating research findings into clinical care.
• Increasing awareness and knowledge of monogenic diabetes amongst health care professionals.

Research projects

• Using pharmacogenetics to improve treatment in young onset diabetes (UNITED)

Grants/Funding

• Grant for £49,687.50 from Genomics England for 100,000 Genomes national project helpline. (Oct 2016) (with Prof Sian Ellard)
• Grant for £100,000 from Health Education England South West for continuation of the GDN project (Oct 2016) (with Prof Sian Ellard)
• Grant for £111,340 from Health Education England for continuation of GDN project (June 2015) (with Profs Sian Ellard and Andrew Hattersley)
• Grant for £12,506 (plus additional 2 Genetic diabetes nurses with travel £11006) from Scottish Executive.. Business case for Genetic Diabetes Service for Scotland, (with Prof Ewan Pearson). 2014

� Grant from Health Education England West Midlands (Genomics Education) for �111,340.00 for the Genetic Diabetes Nurse project, Jan 2014 (with Professor Sian Ellard and Professor Andrew Hattersley)

• Educational grant from DIRECT for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education, �10,000, Nov 2010
• Health Innovation Challenge Fund and Wellcome Trust grant. Oct 2010. �1,249,000.00. Using pharmacogenetics to improve treatment in young-onset diabetes (with Prof AT Hattersley, Prof C Hyde, Prof S Ellard, Dr E Pearson, Dr B Shields, Dr A Millward, Dr R Anderson, Dr J Peters, Prof A Morris, Dr H Colhoun)
• Educational grant from Lilly of �4,000 for 2010 for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative
• Educational grant from Lilly of �4,000 for 2009 for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative (with Julie Frost)
• Educational grant from AstraZeneca of �10,000 each year for 3 years from 2009 for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative (with Dr K MacLeod and Julie Frost)
• Educational grant from Novo Nordisk of �10,000 each year for 3 years from 2008 for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative (with Dr K MacLeod and Julie Frost)
• Educational grant from Lilly of �8,000 for 2008 for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative (with Julie Frost)
• Educational grant from Takeda UK of �7,950 per annum from 2008 for three years Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative (with Dr K MacLeod).
• Educational grant from Sanofi Aventis of �1000 for 2008 for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative (with Dr K MacLeod).
• Diabetes Foundation �110,700 for Genetic Diabetes Nurse project 2007- (with Prof A.T. Hattersley and Prof S.Ellard)
• National Co-ordinating Centre for Research Capacity Development (NCCRCD) DH Fellowship grant �276,724 from 1st Nov 2006 - 31st Oct 2010
• Department of Health Grant. An educational model for the integration of genetics into diabetes care (extension 3) �18,938. Nov 2006-April 2007. (with Prof AT Hattersley and Dr S Ellard)
• Research and Development small grant, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. The impact of Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) upon patients' wellbeing: A qualitative analysis. (with S Estcourt, Dr B Vijada) �2,500. 2005
• Department of Health Grant. An educational model for the integration of genetics into diabetes care (extension 2) �176,165 2004-2006. (with Prof AT Hattersley and Dr S Ellard)
• Department of Health Grant. An educational model for the integration of genetics into diabetes care (extension 1) �14,360 2003-2004 (with Prof AT Hattersley and Dr S Ellard)
• Workforce Development Confederation grant for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative: �50,700 (with Dr K Macleod and D Ruscoe). 2004
• Scottish Executive grant funding 2 MODY link nurses for Scotland: �24,706 (with Dr M Strachan, J Little, Prof AT Hattersley) 2003
• Department of Health Grant. An educational model for the integration of genetics into diabetes care - �49,750 over 18 months from 2002 (with Prof AT Hattersley and Dr S Ellard)
• Institute of Health Studies grant for Pan-Peninsula Diabetes Education Initiative: �25,000 (with Dr K Macleod and D Ruscoe) 2002
• NHS Executive (South West) R&D Fellowship 2001 - �147,086 over 4 years
• NHS Executive (South West) R&D Studentship 1997 - �107,934 over 3 years

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards

Finalist Diabetes UK 2013 Education Award. Do Genetic Diabetes nurses make a difference ? 10 year evaluation of increasing knowledge of monogenic diabetes through a national network

ISPAD Prize for Innovation in Pediatric Diabetes Care 2012 with Professor Andrew Hattersley and colleagues, Winner of Outstanding International Impact award, University of Exeter, December 2011 for‘Transforming the lives of children born with diabetes’ with Professor Andrew Hattersley, Professor Sian Ellard and Dr Sarah McDonald

Awarded ‘Best’ Paper’ in Rapid Fire session 4 at the Annual scientific congress of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, held in Perth, Western Australia. November 2007. The Impact of Thyroid Eye Disease upon patients’ wellbeing: a qualitative analysis'. Anthony Quinn; Stephanie Estcourt, Bijay Vaidya, Maggie Shepherd

Finalist Diabetes UK 2007 Education Award. Stopping insulin in insulin dependent patients: a new challenge for diabetes teams. M Shepherd

British Thyroid Association prize for the best poster presentation at the British Thyroid Association Annual Conference. Altered identity: the impact of thyroid eye disease. S Estcourt, B Vaiyda, M Shepherd. 2006

Member of diabetes and genetics team awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education ‘Using genetics to improve clinical care for diabetic patients’ 2005

Member of diabetes and genetics team awarded the Hospital Doctor Academic Medicine Team of the Year 2005

Finalist Diabetes UK 2005 Education award. Diabetes education for health care professionals based on real patient experiences: the success of using video clips in highlighting the patient voice. M Shepherd, J Frost, C Soper, ME Donohoe, KM Macleod

Finalist Diabetes UK 2005 Education award. Increasing skills and knowledge within a specialist area: benefits of the MODY link nurse role for diabetes specialist nurses. M Shepherd, H McMahon, S Dudding, AT Hattersley, S Ellard

Lilly Diabetes Nursing Education Award 2005 (3rd place). The Department of Health MODY link nurse project: An educational model for the integration of genetics into diabetes care.

Janet Kinson Award Lecture at Diabetes UK annual conference 2003. ‘I’m amazed I’ve been able to come off injections’: Patients’ perceptions of genetic testing in diabetes.

Second prize winner in the 1993 Bayer Diagnostic Educational Awards for the creation and evaluation of a home urine testing diary for the visually impaired

Peel prize winner, June 1984, Kings College Hospital

• Finalist: Nursing Times Award. ‘Improving recognition and care in monogenic diabetes through national Genetic Diabetes Nurses’ shortlisted in the Managing Long-term Conditions category. 2016

• Winner: Diabetes Team of the Year, BMJ awards 2016

• Winner: Quality in Care in Diabetes award in innovation for the national Genetic Diabetes Nurse project 2015

• Finalist: Quality in Care in Diabetes award ‘Outstanding Educator in Diabetes’ 2015

Editorial responsibilities

Editorial Board member of European Diabetes Nursing journal

Invited lectures

TREND UK diabetes nursing conference ‘The future of diabetes nursing –Survival of the fittest’ – Identifying unusual types of diabetes: do your patients have the correct diagnosis ?’ 9/11/12 London

Federation of European Nurses in Diabetes (FEND) European conference in Berlin Sept 2012, running two Masterclasses on the Identification of Monogenic Diabetes

7th Surrey Diabetes Conference, July 2012 on Monogenic diabetes, Guildford

Monogenic diabetes: getting the diagnosis right at ‘Taking diabetes care from good to great’ for SB communications supported by Lilly in Manchester, London, Belfast and Birmingham, April and May 2012

Annual Professional Diabetes Symposium for West Norfolk, November 2011 ‘Is diabetes always as simple as Type 1 and Type 2 ?’

National Paediatric Diabetes conference in Birmingham, May 2011 ‘Differential diagnosis in Paediatric diabetes’

‘Taking primary care from good to great’ for SB communications supported by Lilly, in London, Cardiff, Southampton, Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham March 2011.

ESRC Genomics network health technologies and health systems meeting (Egenis). ‘MODY and neonatal diabetes, the NHS experience’ Nov 2010

4th Global Diabetes Educator Conference, Paris, ‘Identifying monogenic diabetes’ Oct 2010

10th Abracadabra Diabetes Nursing Conferences ‘Differential diagnosis’ 2010 in Manchester, Birmingham and London

Neonatal Diabetes at Diabetes UK headquarters, Oct 2009

MSD Diabetes Specialist Nurse roadshows on monogenic diabetes in Manchester, Cardiff, London, Birmingham, Leicester and Cardiff 2009

Inter-Disciplinary Net 7th Global Conference ‘Making sense of Health, Illness and Disease’. Oxford, July 2008.

Course on monogenic diabetes for American Paediatricians (Exeter, May 2008)

European MODY conference ‘Understanding diabetes in the pharmacogenomic age’. This is the first meeting of the EASD Study Group on Genetics of Diabetes (EASD-SGGD), Malaga, Oct 2007

Royal College of Nursing Genetics conference, London, Nov 2006

Keynote lecture at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Symposium, London, Nov 2006

Keynote lecture at the Research Nursing and the UK Diabetes Research Network training course, Oxford, Oct 2006

Novo Nordisk Symposium on Diabetes Care, 6-7th April 2006, Nottingham

‘European Perspective on Consumers in Research especially in vulnerable people’. Clinical Research Nurses Association Annual Conference. 6-7th Oct 2005, Pisa, Italy. ‘Genetic testing in diabetes: the impact on families’

Media Coverage

Dr Shepherd has been involved in identifying patients and their families with monogenic diabetes to take part in a range of newpaper articles over the years and have also taken part in radio interviews about diabetes research.

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Teaching

Training / teaching x 3 study days per year for national Genetic Diabetes Nurses and others interested in monogenic diabetes.

Organising and running the 2 day Monogenic diabetes training course (for details see www.diabetesgenes.org)

Module lead for the Work based learning module of the MSc in Genomic Medicine, University of Exeter

http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/medicine/genomicmsc/

Modules

2023/24

Information not currently available

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