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Prof Richard Holt

MA, MB BChir, PhD, FRCP, FHEA

Professor in Diabetes and Endocrinology, Honorary Consultant Physician in Diabetes

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righ@soton.ac.uk (PA: Julie Hickman, j.hickman@soton.ac.uk)

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Richard Holt trained at the University of Cambridge and London Hospital Medical College. His current research interests are broadly focussed around clinical diabetes but specifically encompass studies of the relationship between mental illness and diabetes and, diabetes and pregnancy.


His clinical responsibilities include the diabetes and pregnancy clinic, young adult diabetes clinic and the cystic fibrosis related diabetes service. Professor Holt was the Editor-in-Chief of Diabetic Medicine (2016-2020) and is the Editor-in-Chief of the 5th edition of the Textbook of Diabetes. He was the co-chair of the EASD-ADA consensus report of the management of type 1 diabetes in adults.

Landmark publications:


Structured lifestyle education for people with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and first-episode psychosis (STEPWISE): randomised controlled trial. Holt RIG, Gossage-Worrall R, Hind D, Bradburn MJ, McCrone P, Morris T, Edwardson C, Barnard K, Carey ME, Davies MJ, Dickens CM, Doherty Y, Etherington A, French P, Gaughran F, Greenwood KE, Kalidindi S, Khunti K, Laugharne R, Pendlebury J, Rathod S, Saxon D, Shiers D, Siddiqi N, Swaby EA, Waller G, Wright S. Br J Psychiatry. 2018 Sep 25:1-11. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2018.167.


Clinical and cost-effectiveness of an intervention for reducing cholesterol and cardiovascular risk for people with severe mental illness in English primary care: a cluster randomised controlled trial. Osborn D, Burton A, Hunter R, Marston L, Atkins L, Barnes T, Blackburn R, Craig T, Gilbert H, Heinkel S, Holt R, King M, Michie S, Morris R, Morris S, Nazareth I, Omar R, Petersen I, Peveler R, Pinfold V, Walters K. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018 Jan 15. pii: S2215-0366(18)30007-5. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30007-5.


Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a cardiovascular risk prediction algorithm for people with severe mental illness (PRIMROSE). Zomer E, Osborn D, Nazareth I, Blackburn R, Burton A, Hardoon S, Holt RIG, King M, Marston L, Morris S, Omar R, Petersen I, Walters K, Hunter RM. BMJ Open. 2017 Sep 5;7(9):e018181.


Osborn DP, Hardoon S, Omar RZ, Holt RI, King M, Larsen J, Marston L, Morris RW, Nazareth I, Walters K, Petersen I. Cardiovascular risk prediction models for people with severe mental illness: results from the prediction and management of cardiovascular risk in people with severe mental illnesses (PRIMROSE) research program. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 Feb;72(2):143-51


Holt RIG, DeVries JH, Hess-Fischl A, Hirsch IB, Kirkman MS, Klupa T, Ludwig B, Nørgaard K, Pettus J, Renard E, Skyler JS, Snoek FJ, Weinstock RS, Peters AL. The Management of Type 1 Diabetes in Adults. A Consensus Report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Diabetes Care. 2021 Nov;44(11):2589-2625. doi: 10.2337/dci21-0043. Epub 2021 Sep 3


Major grants:

  • NIHR programme grant: RP-PG-0609-10156. Mar 11 – July 2017 £2,029,234

  • Prediction and management of cardiovascular risk for people with severe mental illnesses. A research programme and trial in primary care. (PRIMROSE). Osborn D, Antoniou J, Walters K, Nazareth I, Johnston C, Michie S, Pinfold V, Barnes T, Morris S, King M, Omar R, Holt R, Peveler R, Marston L, Petersen I, Morris R, Craig T

  • NIHR HTA Project Grant (12/20/05) – STEPWISE: Structured lifestyle education for people with schizophrenia. October 2013 – September 2017. £2,010,679. Holt RI, Barnard K, Bradburn M, Carey M, Davies M, Dickens C, Etherington A, French P, Gaughran F, Kendall T, Hind D, Khunti K, Laugharne R, McCrone P, Mitchell J, Miller H, Pendlebury J, Rathod S, Shiers D, Yates T

  • NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research: RP-PG-1016-20003 March 2018 – September 2023 £2,849,667. Developing and evaluating a diabetes self-management intervention for people with severe mental illness: The DIAMONDS programme (Diabetes and Mental Illness, Improving Outcomes and Self-management). Siddiqi N, Holt RI, Shiers D, Kellar I, Boehnke J, Taylor J, Coventry P, Ajjan R, Alderson S, Ali S, Long S, Parrott S, Hewitt C, Osborn D, Gilbody S, Doherty P. 

  • NIHR HTA Project: 16/25/12 January 2018 – October 2022 £1,990,050. Optimising Cardiac Surgery ouTcOmes in People with diabeteS (OCTOPuS). Holt RI, Cook A, Patel M, Partridge H, Newland Jones P, Velissaris T, Ohri S, Salhiyyah K, Lord J, Barnard K, Whitehead A, Fisher A

  • NIHR Global Health Research Group: April 2018 – March 2021 £1,999,991.00. Improving Outcomes in Mental and Physical Multimorbidity and Developing Research Capacity (IMPACT) in South Asia at the University of York. Gilbody S, Siddiqi N, Boehnke, Chaturvedi, Churchill, Hewitt, Holt, Huque, Jacobs, McDaid, Mdege, Mirzoev, Murthy, Nahar, Naheed, Peckham, Rawalpindi, Sheldon, Stubbs, Siddiqi K, Wright

Impact examples:

  • Professor Holt’s research led to the introduction of a test for GH misuse in professional support

  • His research into the links between diabetes and mental illness have informed national and international guidelines

  • He is currently the chair of the EASD Committee for Clinical Affairs which oversees the production of guidelines and position statement by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes


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