Dr Anjali Zalin is an experienced, award-winning clinician with a specialist interest in obesity management. She was awarded a 1st class degree and Harvey prize for outstanding academic achievement from Queen Mary and Westfield, University of London before completing her clinical training at St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Specialist training in Diabetes, Endocrinology and General Internal Medicine was obtained in the North East and North West Thames regions and included quality improvement experience with NIHR CLAHRC Northwest London, with a PhD awarded by Imperial College London.
Dr Zalin has worked as the Association for Study of Obesity Partnerships Lead and is an Honorary Lecturer at William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary and Westfield, University of London. In her academic roles, she has mentored many undergraduate and postgraduate students in specialist obesity projects and is currently co-supervising a PhD with the University of Bedfordshire. She complements this work with dedicated lectures for medical students, masters students and allied health professionals. Dr Zalin is also regularly invited to speak as a guest lecturer at speciality conferences as well as to national media. She has contributed extensively to the literature including book chapters, invited special editions and journal reviews. She has a broad research portfolio with many high impact collaborations and adopted studies.
As a clinician, Dr Zalin has pioneered numerous innovations, securing over 2 million pounds of grant funding for the obesity services she has led across England. She has also been integral to the design of a comprehensive obesity database which is unique in its breadth and ability to communicate directly with service users and capture pathway outcomes. Other innovations include the implementation of social prescribing, reasonable adjustments and novel technology to support personalised care within the obesity service. A dedicated focus has been the development of cross-speciality pathways with services including maternal medicine, sports and exercise medicine, cardiology, hepatology, paediatrics, neurology, respiratory. Dr Zalin was amongst the first to support novel medical pathways and risk stratification within the obesity service and continues to develop this work. In her role as a bariatric physician, she has gained expertise and co-developed pathways for prehabilitation and post-bariatric medical care. During the pandemic she worked with colleagues to ensure ongoing accessibility for those at highest risk, implementing digital solutions and alternative modes of contact. At times of medical shortages, she designed and implemented alternative evidence-based interventions. Dr Zalin remains dedicated to this work and advocating for the highest quality care for people living with obesity.
