Kajal Panchal awarded PhD

Award
Date published
26/01/2026

Dr Kajal Panchal has successfully completed her PhD at the University of Leicester, with funding support from NIHR ARC East Midlands.

She explored the risk of incident heart failure among people with and without diabetes.

Working with patient records from GP surgeries and NHS hospital records across England, Dr Panchal used various data cleaning and statistical approaches to understand which groups of people are at highest risk. 

Her research showed significantly higher rates of heart failure for those with non-ischaemic heart failure (heart failure not caused by blocked arteries) than ischaemic (heart failure caused by blocked arteries), with greater rates among people with type 2 diabetes than without diabetes and in men than women. 

The trends in ischaemic heart failure slightly decreased over time but remained stable for non-ischaemic heart failure. The highest mortality rates were observed in men with type 2 diabetes and non-ischaemic heart failure.

Reflecting on her journey, Dr Panchal said: "During this time, I gained valuable skills in conducting research reviews, analysing large patient data sets, and publishing findings. This experience strengthened my technical skills and taught me patience, resilience, and critical thinking.

"I am grateful to my supervisors, Dr Francesco Zaccardi and Dr Claire Lawson at the University of Leicester, and my funders, NIHR ARC East Midlands. The PhD was a challenging yet enriching experience that gave me a strong foundation in research skills.

“I am excited to carry these skills forward in my new role as a Research Associate at the University of Nottingham, where I will continue to contribute to primary care research.”

Her work has been published in the following journals:

Well done to Dr Panchal on this outstanding achievement. We are proud to have supported you on your research journey!