Imperial Post-Doctoral, Post-CCT Research Fellowship

Investigating the Effect of Kisspeptin on Glucose Homeostasis

How do hormones affect reproduction and metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes and people who do not have type 2 diabetes?

Up to 40% of people who are obese and/or have type 2 diabetes have low reproductive hormone levels (hypogonadism) and therefore have reduced sexual function and reduced fertility. Also, having low reproductive hormone levels is associated with lower insulin secretion and higher insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes. Some hormones have been shown to be essential for fertility in animals and humans, whilst other hormones have been shown to affect the amount of insulin produced, appetite and body weight in animals and humans (but some of these effects might be different in different genders). Identifying hormones that can control both reproduction and metabolism may lead to better treatments for fertility disorders. This study will investigate if certain reproductive hormones (e. g. kisspeptin) can improve the ability of the body to respond to glucose, and investigate how these hormones affect appetite, the quantity of food eaten and how much energy people use.

 

Biography

Chioma Izzi-Engbeaya is currently an Imperial College-BRC funded IPPRF Clinical Research Fellow in the Section of Endocrinology and Investigative Medicine at Imperial College London (led by Prof Waljit S. Dhillo). She is part of a successful research team investigating the hormonal control of reproduction and metabolism using a wide range of basic science and clinical techniques, and developing aptamer-based methods of measuring hormones. She undertakes clinical work at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as an Endocrinology Consultant.
Dr Izzi-Engbeaya completed her undergraduate medical training at Guy’s Kings and St Thomas’ Medical School in 2004. During this time she also completed an Intercalated BSc in Endocrinology (for which she was awarded First Class Honours). Her junior doctor training posts were undertaken at various London NHS Trusts including Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. She became an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow during her training as a Diabetes and Endocrinology Registrar and was subsequently awarded an Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Charity Fellowship, followed by an MRC Clinical Research Training PhD Fellowship in 2014. She completed her PhD with Professor Waljit Dhillo and Dr James Gardiner in 2018, and completed her clinical training in Diabetes, Endocrinology and General Medicine in 2019.