Staff Profile

Key roles:

Director of Engagement & Place, Faculty of Medical Sciences

Chair of the Board of Examiners for Stage 1 BDS

Co-lead Faculty Fitness to Practise

Qualifications:

Senior Fellowship of the HEA

National teaching award by completion of CASAP

BBSRC funded Ph.D. in Molecular Nutrition and Biochemistry, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences. Supervisor: Professor Dianne Ford. Title of thesis: Genetic influences on inter-individual variation in soyabean isoflavone absorption and metabolism.

BSc Hons Pharmacology, Newcastle University

Funding:

Monash University- Newcastle University PhD Exchange programme. L Wakeling, N Jakubovics and M Piper. The role of nutrition in Drosophila immunity. 2018-2020.

NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) 3 Year PhD Studentship Funding. J Taylor, R Valentine, L Wakeling and P Preshaw. An investigation of the credentials of Sirt2 as an age-related biomarker for periodontitis. 2017-2020.

Rank Prize Vacation Scholarship. Modulation of gustatory receptor gene expression in an inflammatory immune response. L Wakeling. Jul 2015.

University Education Development Fund:

• L Wakeling and J Ellis. Validation by dental students of the alignment of our Educational Strategy to their learning experience. May 2019-Jan 2021

• L Wakeling, M Thomason, G Watkins (NUSU), J Barton (NUSU) and M Lintern (Careers) Development of professional learning through student representation. May 2017-Jun 2018.

• L Wakeling and M Vernon (NUIT). Context Café: course integration sessions to engage Dental Surgery undergraduates with the basic sciences captured by notebook technology. May 2015- Jun 2017

Faculty Education Research Development and Practice Fund:

• L Wakeling and P Waterhouse. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Dental School’s student representation system. Apr 2019-Feb 2020

• L Wakeling, M Harper (Stage 4 BDS UG), H Bateman, P Blaylock, (BDA) and J Barton (NUSU). Pilot and evaluation of an Advanced ncl like workshop ‘Professional Learning through student representation’. Dec 2018- May 2020

• L Wakeling and J Barton (NUSU), Development of professional learning through student representation. Nov 2017- Dec 2018

• E Tullo (SBMS) and L Wakeling Symposium and development of Special Interest Group. Apr 2019

• L Wakeling and A Iannetti (Pharmacy) Tackling the common issues of the Faculty’s Student Academic Representation system in a half-day event. Jul 2018

• L Wakeling and J Ellis. Educating Dental Educators to do Education Research Apr 2018

• L Wakeling, J Brown (SBMS) an J Stewart (SME), Evaluation of Context Café, a session which allows Stage 2 Biochemistry students to contextualise learning in their degree programme and beyond. Apr 2017- Jan 2018

• E Tullo (SBMS), L Wakeling, Laura Greaves (ION) and Rose Gilroy (APL) Inclusive research with students and members of the public: How can we best evaluate innovative teaching about ageing? Aug 2017- Aug 2019

• R Valentine (FMS) L Wakeling, L Ferrie (FMS), C Guilding (FMS), A Schartner (HASS), Student induction into the University- does it work? 2016

Google scholar: Click here. 

Research interests:

My main research interest is in the effect of nutrition on epigenetics (modifications to the genome such as DNA methylation) and ultimately the effect this has in healthy ageing and lifespan.

My research focuses on dietary polyphenols; from studying genetic differences that may influence variation in polyphenol metabolism, to investigating the ability of these polyphenols to mimic the beneficial effects seen with dietary restriction on ageing in endothelial and epithelial cell models.

A model organism to assess the effect of diet on DNA methylation and lifespan is the honeybee. Honeybees have similar methylation machinery to humans and it has been shown that a change in diet early in a bee’s life can dramatically alter the life outcome of the bee (lifespan and reproductive capacity are hugely altered); changes in DNA methylation also coincide with these dietary effects. We have shown that a protein, Sir2, which is involved in the lifespan response to dietary restriction, is also affected in the honeybee by diet. I am also interested in the taste receptor expression in the honeybee and bumble bee and the response to dietary interventions. 

Education research interests:

• Context Café: course integration session to engage Dental Surgery undergraduates with the basic sciences. 
• Opportunity for professional learning through student representation: Newcastle University’s Academic Representation System enables its students to feedback on and enhance their learning experience. Many of the skills that students develop as Representatives echo expected General Dental Council professional standards (e.g. dealing with complaints, raising concern, effective management and leadership). The Professional Learning through Representation programme has been developed with NUSU to provide students with an opportunity to build on their Academic Representation experience and develop related professional skills.
• Involving older people in the design, development and delivery of an innovative module on ageing for undergraduates.

Stage 1 and 2 Dental Surgery BDS programme, School of Dental Sciences: 

Cell Biology course lead (Stage 1) and Blood theme-lead for Dental Physiology. I also teach across Cell Physiology (Stage 1), Metabolism and Homeostasis (Stage 1), Microbiology for Dentists (Stage 2) and Nutrition and Diet (Stage 2).

Course lead for Orientation and Study Skills (Stage 1). Including development and delivery of Context Café – a basic sciences integration method in induction week.

Caries Café (Stage 3): Development and delivery of an integration method for caries that is taught across the entire BDS programme.

Wider university teaching: 

Seminar leader for Stage 1 Pharmacology, School of Biomedical Sciences

Lecturer: BGM3063 Epigenetics

BGM3063 Context Café 

Student supervision:

Supervision and training in research of undergraduate, MSci, MRes and PhD students

Supervision and training in research of JobsOC student internships

• Articles

  • Wahono NA, Wakeling LA, Dirks W, Banks DA, Shepherd TJ, Ford D, Valentine RA. Use of zinc deposited in deciduous teeth as a retrospective measurement of dietary zinc exposure during early development. Frontiers in Oral Health 2023, 4, 1119086.
  • Wakeling L, Blaylock P, Harper M, Trevor M, Murphy H, Barton J, Bateman H. Representation: raising awareness of opportunities and skill development with undergraduate dental students. British Dental Journal 2022, 232, 867-873.
  • Forster F, Tullo E, Wakeling l, Gilroy R. Involving older people in inclusive educational research. Journal of Aging Studies 2021, 56, 100906.
  • Wahono NA, Ford D, Wakeling LA, Valentine RA. The presence and response to Zn of ZnT family mRNAs in human dental pulp. Metallomics 2019, 11(3), 613-620.
  • Valentine RA, Wakeling LA, Ferrie LJ, Schartner A, Guilding C, Peterson J. Students on Student Induction – A Cross-Disciplinary Action Research Project. ARELCS 2019, 16(2), 1-29.
  • Tullo ES, Wakeling LA, Elliott A. Impacts on older people contributing to an intergenerational course about aging. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships 2019, 17(3), 327-339.
  • Aziz SA, Wakeling LA, Miwa S, Alberdi G, Hesketh JE, Ford D. Metabolic programming of a beige adipocyte phenotype by genistein. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research 2017, 61(2), 1600574.
  • Simcock NK, Wakeling LA, Ford D, Wright GA. Effects of age and nutritional state on the expression of gustatory receptors in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). PLOS One 2017, 12(4), e0175158.
  • Hardyman J, Tyson J, Jackson K, Aldridge C, Cockell S, Wakeling L, Valentine RA, Ford D. Zinc sensing by metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF1) controls metallothionein and ZnT1 expression to buffer the sensitivity of the transcriptome response to zinc. Metallomics 2016, 8(3), 337-343.
  • Tullo E, Greaves L, Wakeling L. Involving older people in the design, development, and delivery of an innovative module on aging for undergraduate students. Educational Gerontology 2016, 42(10), 698-705.
  • Wakeling LA, Ions LJ, Escolme SM, Cockell SJ, Su T, Dey M, Hampton EV, Jenkins G, Wainwright LJ, McKay JA, Ford D. SIRI1 effects DNA methylation of polycomb protein target genes, a hotspot of the epigenetic shift observed in ageing. Human Genomics 2015, 9, 14.
  • Paoli PP, Wakeling LA, Wright GA, Ford D. The dietary proportion of essential amino acids and Sir2 influence lifespan in the honeybee. AGE 2014, 36, 1239-1247.
  • Ions LJ, Wakeling LA, Bosomworth HJ, Hardyman JEJ, Escolme SM, Swan DC, Valentine RA, Mathers JC, Ford D. Effects of Sirt1 on DNA methylation and expression of genes affected by dietary restriction. Age 2013, 35(5), 1835-1849.
  • Wakeling LA, Ford D. Polymorphisms in genes involved in the metabolism and transport of soy isoflavones affect the urinary metabolite profile in premenopausal women following consumption of a commercial soy supplement as a single bolus dose. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 2012, 56(12), 1794-1802.
  • Wakeling LA, Ions LJ, Ford D. Could Sirt1-mediated epigenetic effects contribute to the longevity response to dietary restriction and be mimicked by other dietary interventions?. Age 2009, 31(4), 327-341.
  • Ions L, Wakeling L, Ford D. Can soyabean isoflavones mimic the effects of energy restriction on healthy ageing?. Nutrition Bulletin 2009, 34(3), 303-308.

• Book Chapter

  • McKay JA, Wakeling LA. Nutrition, epigenetics and ageing. In: Deliminda Neves, ed. Anti-Ageing Nutrients Evidence-Based Prevention of Age-Associated Diseases. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2015, pp.133-147.

• Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

  • Aziz S, Wakeling L, Hesketh J, Ford D. Genistein promotes a gene expression profile characteristic of brown rather than white adipocytes and increases Sirt1 expression in mouse NIH₃T₃-L1 cells. In: Experimental Biology Meeting 2014. 2014, San Diego, CA: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
  • Alberdi G, Wakeling L, Lasa A, Rodriguez VM, Macarulla MT, Ford D, Portillo MP. Effects of resveratrol on the methylation of lipogenic enzyme genes in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In: 20th International Congress of Nutrition. 2013, Granada, Spain: Karger.
  • Escolme SM, Wakeling LA, Alatawi F, Valentine R, Ford D. Does resveratrol act independently of SIRT1 to affect genes relevant to ageing?. In: Nutrition Society Annual Summer Meeting. 2013, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • Hardyman JEJ, Ogo OA, Tyson J, Wakeling LA, Valentine RA, Ford D. DNA methylation of the zinc transcriptional regulatory element and its potential contribution to zinc dyshomeostasis in ageing. In: Nutrition Society Annual Summer Meeting. 2013, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  • Wakeling LA, Alatawi F, Ions LJ, Hesketh J, Ford D. SIRT1-independent epigenetic effects of resveratrol mediated through the estrogen receptor. In: Experimental Biology. 2012, San Diego, California, USA: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
  • Wakeling LA, Alatawi F, Ions LJ, Hesketh J, Ford D. SIRT1-independent epigenetic effects of resveratrol mediated through the estrogen receptor. In: Experimental Biology Meeting. 2012, San Diego, CA: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
  • Ford D, Ions LJ, Alatawi F, Wakeling LA. The potential role of epigenetic responses to diet in ageing. In: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society: A joint meeting of the Nutrition Society and the UK Molecular Epidemiology Group. 2011, London: Cambridge University Press.
  • Wakeling L, Ford D. Genetic influences on interindividual variability in soybean isoflavone absorption and metabolism. In: International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Cancer. 2007, Washington, DC: Journal of Nutrition, American Society for Nutrition.
  • Wakeling LA, McGarr EF, Ford D. The association of single nucleotide polymorphisms with beta-glucosidase activity in oral epithelium. In: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2006, Aberdeen, Scotland: Cambridge University Press.

• Note

  • Wakeling L, Jakubovics N, McHanwell S, Stewart J. Challenging the basic sciences 'learn and forget' culture. Medical Education 2016, 50(5), 578-579.