David Savage is Professor of Molecular Metabolism at the University of Cambridge. His research and clinical work has primarily focussed on lipodystrophies and he is now widely recognised as the world’s leading clinician-scientist in this area. He established the only NHS-commissioned specialist service for lipodystrophy in England and continues to lead this service as well as making contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning inherited forms of lipodystrophy.
Long considered fascinating but rare disorders of adipocyte function, his work has now shown that subtle forms of lipodystrophy are in fact a major factor in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance in general, type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.