Faheem Seedat

I am a clinician-scientist, a consultant endocrinologist and a postdoctoral visiting researcher. 

My clinical and academic training was grounded in the South African healthcare system, where I completed my undergraduate medical degree, specialist training in Internal Medicine, and subspecialist training in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of the Witwatersrand. I also hold a Master’s in Medicine focused on the impact of tenofovir on acute kidney injury in hospitalised HIV-positive patients.

My DPhil research at the University of Oxford, based at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health (NDWRH) and the Centre for Human Genetics, explored the molecular dialogue between the placenta and maternal pancreatic islets. I investigated how placental hormones and extracellular vesicles (pEVs) influence maternal islet adaptation during pregnancy, both in normal pregnancy and in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). My work also focused on studying protein abundance in human islets from pregnant donors, with a particular emphasis on pregnancy-induced alterations in alpha and beta cells, as well as the expression and roles of the prolactin receptor, the 5-HT₂B (serotonin) receptor, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). My goal was to advance our understanding of placental contributions to maternal metabolic adaptations and the pathophysiology of GDM.

I am currently a postdoctoral visiting researcher at the NDWRH continuing work on islet adaptations in pregnancy, with a focus on placental signalling, GDM, and endocrine physiology. I am experienced in molecular and cellular biology techniques, high-resolution confocal microscopy, RNA-seq, and LC/MS-MS omics analysis.

In addition to my academic work, I have NHS experience, having worked as a clinical endocrinologist at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (OCDEM). I have also completed a research observership at the Centre for Pituitary Care, Leiden University Medical Centre supported by the European Society of Endocrinology. I am a published researcher, have presented at national and international conferences, and supervise postgraduate trainees. My interests span clinical-translational research, endocrine disorders in pregnancy, and academic mentorship.