Sir Nilesh Jayantilal Samani (born 19 July 1956) is a British physician who is professor of Cardiology at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_la ...

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

cardiologist at

Glenfield Hospital Glenfield Hospital, formally known as Glenfield General Hospital, is situated near Glenfield, on the outskirts of Leicester. It is one of England's main hospitals for coronary care and respiratory diseases. It is a tertiary referral university ...

in the city, and Medical Director of the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

Life and Career

Samani is of ethnic

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n origin and was born in Nanyuki,

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. His mother tongue is Gujarati. He was educated at the

Lenana School Lenana School is a secondary school in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed in 1949 by colonial governor Philip Euen Mitchell, known then as the Duke of York School, named after a British World War II 1939 King George V-class battleship. The bell fr ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

and once his family moved to the UK in 1971, at Charles Keene College in Leicester, and then studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

at the

. Serving as a house officer from 1981 and then as a

senior house officer A senior house officer (SHO) is a non-consultant hospital doctor in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised in their work by consultants and registrars. In training posts these registrars and consultants oversee training and are usually their d ...

from 1982 to 1985, Samani then became an MRC Clinical Trainee Fellow until 1988. From that point, he served as a lecturer in medicine, then senior lecturer from 1993 onwards co-terminous with his appointment as a consultant at Glenfield until his elevation to Professor in 1997. Samani achieved his MD and Fellowship of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

(FRCP) in 1994, and of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to ad ...

(FMedSci) in 2002. Since 2010 he has served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire. He was knighted in the

2015 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for "services to Medicine and Medical Research". In February 2023, the British Heart Foundation announced that Samani would step down as Medical Director some time after September of the same year, after 7 years in the post.

Personal Life

He is married with two sons.

References

1956 births British cardiologists Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire NIHR Senior Investigators Living people Kenyan emigrants to the United Kingdom British people of Indian descent Kenyan people of Asian descent {{UK-med-bio-stub