Colleges
DPhil projects available
Leanne Hodson
BSc (Hons), PhD
Professor of Metabolic Physiology
- BHF Senior Basic Science Research Fellow
Integrative Physiology (Systems Biology)
I am heading the Metabolic Research Group together with Professor Fredrik Karpe. My research focuses on the alterations in metabolism with nutritional state and substrates (e.g. sugars, fatty acids) along with the associated metabolic consequences of obesity. We perform whole body human physiological studies to understand the metabolic integration between tissues.
The current focus of my research is on understanding liver fat metabolism, as perturbations in this have the potential to impact widely on metabolic health. Accumulation of fat within the liver underlies the spectrum of conditions known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and this is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The liver is a major player in fat metabolism; it integrates endogenous and exogenous fatty acids and the accumulation or loss of liver fat represents the balance between input and removal pathways. However, the regulation of the metabolic partitioning of fatty acids within the human liver is poorly understood. We use a combination of approaches, including human in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro cellular models along metabolically-labelled substrates (stable-isotope tracers) to probe relevant pathways involved liver fat metabolism. By understanding the regulation of these pathways, this may lead to interesting new therapeutic approaches to prevent and/or treat NAFLD.
I was awarded a British Heart Foundation Senior Fellowship in Basic Science in 2015. Prior to this, I was awarded the Gridlers’ Health Research Council (NZ) Career Development Fellowship, which enabled me to come and undertake post-doctoral work at the University of Oxford in 2004 and I held a British Heart Foundation Intermediate Fellowship in Basic Science from 2011-2015.
Recent publications
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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults: Current concepts in etiology, outcomes and management.
Journal article
Marjot T. et al, (2019), Endocr Rev
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The regulation of hepatic fatty acid synthesis and partitioning: the effect of nutritional state.
Journal article
Hodson L. and Gunn PJ., (2019), Nature reviews. Endocrinology
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Hyperinsulinemia: does it tip the balance toward intrahepatic fat accumulation?
Journal article
Hodson L. and Karpe F., (2019), Endocr Connect
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Human PNPLA3-I148M variant increases hepatic retention of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Journal article
Luukkonen PK. et al, (2019), JCI Insight, 4
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Transient cold storage prior to normothermic liver perfusion may facilitate adoption of a novel technology.
Journal article
Ceresa CDL. et al, (2019), Liver Transpl
ORCID
0000-0002-2648-6526