Heidi de Wet
DPhil
Associate Professor of Physiology
- University Lecturer
Heidi de Wet received her Bachelor of Science degree from North Western University, South Africa, and was awarded a DPhil from the University of Cape Town (UCT) Medical School in 2000. She moved to the University of Oxford to pursue post-doctoral studies in 2003, where she joined the group of Professor Frances Ashcroft. Following two maternity breaks, she joined the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics as a University Lecturer in Physiology and Associate Professor. She is a Fellow and Director of Studies for Pre-clinical Medicine for St Catherine's College.
Her doctoral work in the Department of Chemical Pathology, UCT, first introduced her to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family of membrane transporters; these transporters have been the focus of her research ever since. Her post-doctoral research in Oxford focussed on neonatal diabetes, a rare form of type 2 diabetes, and the dysfunctional ABC transporters involved in this disease. More recently, her focus has shifted to studying the role of ABC transporters in gut endocrine K-and L-cells. These cells are involved in nutrient sensing in the small intestine and the subsequent secretion of appropriate peptide hormones that regulate several essential physiological responses to food intake.
Recent publications
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The release of GLP-1 from gut L cells is inhibited by low extracellular pH.
Journal article
Garbutt P. et al, (2024), Obesity (Silver Spring)
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Systemic Co-Administration of Low-Dose Oxytocin and Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Additively Decreases Food Intake and Body Weight.
Journal article
Maejima Y. et al, (2024), Neuroendocrinology, 1 - 19
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Traditional Japanese medicine Kamikihito ameliorates sucrose preference, chronic inflammation and obesity induced by a high fat diet in middle-aged mice.
Journal article
Maejima Y. et al, (2024), Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 15
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Acetyl-CoA-carboxylase 1 (ACC1) plays a critical role in glucagon secretion.
Journal article
Veprik A. et al, (2022), Commun Biol, 5
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NMDA Receptor Antagonists Increase the Release of GLP-1 From Gut Endocrine Cells.
Journal article
Cyranka M. et al, (2022), Front Pharmacol, 13