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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Lifestyle interventions affecting hepatic fatty acid metabolism.
Journal article
Parry SA. et al, (2020), Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care, 23, 373 - 379
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Nuclear receptor REVERBα is a state-dependent regulator of liver energy metabolism.
Journal article
Hunter AL. et al, (2020), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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Adipocyte REVERBα dictates adipose tissue expansion during obesity
Journal article
Louise Hunter A. et al, (2020)
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Relationship between de novo lipogenesis and serum sex hormone-binding globulin in humans
Conference paper
Simons PIHG. et al, (2020), DIABETOLOGIA, 63, S423 - S424
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The Effect of Blood Ketone Concentration and Exercise Intensity on Exogenous Ketone Oxidation Rates in Athletes.
Journal article
Dearlove DJ. et al, (2020), Med Sci Sports Exerc
ORCID
0000-0002-2648-6526