Paul Stewart, MD, FRCP, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) has received a CBE as part of the British New Year Honours that recognizes merit in terms of achievement and service.
Stewart, an emeritus professor of medicine at Leeds University in the U.K., was acknowledged for his services to medical science. A former dean of Leeds Medical School and executive dean of Leeds’ Faculty of Medicine and Health, he previously supervised a translational research group which focused on corticosteroids, specifically cortisol metabolism via 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases. His work has led to new discoveries in hypertension, obesity, aging, and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Since 2020, Stewart has led the editorial team of JCEM and received the Endocrine Society’s 2018 International Excellence in Endocrinology Laureate Award. A past member of the Endocrine Society Council, he has served on six Endocrine Society committees over the years and was an associate editor of the Journal of the Endocrine Society from 2017 to 2019.
He has spent four decades in clinical service in the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) as a consultant endocrinologist, which included 13 years of executive leadership in medical schools and health faculties at the Universities of Leeds and Birmingham.
Stewart tells Endocrine News that when he first learned of the honor, he was delighted, not only for himself, “but for his family and all the fellows, colleagues, and patients without whom this recognition would not have happened. Secondly,” he continues, “I had a feeling of humility. The U.K. Honours system has its origins as far back as the Norman conquest in 1066. To be nominated and supported by one’s own peer group and endorsed by the U.K. Cabinet and King is a very special moment in my career.”
In the U.K., Stewart has been actively involved in nurturing and supporting early research careers as a former chair of the U.K.-wide Clinical Academic Training Forum and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the Academy of Medical Sciences. His many key roles on health boards and networks have included vice chair of Prostate Cancer U.K., as well as acting president and member of the Council of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
As for the CBE perhaps raising the profile of endocrinology, Stewart says that, at least in the U.K., “endocrinology/diabetes tends to be one of the more academically based clinical disciplines,” he says, adding “I don’t have any data but anecdotally I suspect that this discipline of medicine does very well in the U.K. Honours system.” Stewart notes that several other endocrinology/diabetes peers also received 2025 King’s Honousrs.
A CBE is the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a grade within the British order of chivalry. The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year’s Day being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honors.
Stewart says that individuals living outside the U.K. can be nominated for a U.K. Honour as well as individuals living within the U.K. who have made exceptional international contributions. “There are many such individuals, a few of whom I know have an endocrine home,” he says.