Forschung

In 1967 Wright began his seminal studies on nutrient, salt and water transport across the epithelial cells of the intestine, kidney and choroid plexus. Later he focused on the structure and function of a family of membrane transport proteins known as sodium sugar cotransporters (SLC5). In 1984 his lab identified the first member of the SLC5 family, in 1987 invented expression cloning to isolate cDNAs, and in 1991 was the first to identify mutations in a transporter gene that are responsible for a genetic disorder, glucose-galactosemalabsorption.
Currently his goals are to understand: (i) the molecular mechanism of sodium cotransporters. This is being addressed by structural and functional studies on recombinant proteins; and (ii) how SLC5 proteins contribute to glucose homeostasis in health and disease. This is being studied by novel imaging methods in normal subjects and patients with genetic disorders of glucose transport and metabolism.

Career

• 1987-2000 Chairman, Department of Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
• 1979-1980 Vice-Chairman, Department of Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
• 1978 D.Sc. University of London, UK (Physiology)
• 1977 Visiting Professor, Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, UK
• since 1974 Professor of Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
• 1974-1975 Visiting Professor, Max Planck Institute fur Biophysik, Frankfurt / Main, Germany
• 1973 Visiting Professor, Department of Physiology, Centro de Investigation y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politecnico Nacional de Mexico
• 1970-1974 Associate Professor of Physiology, University of California,Los Angeles, USA
• 1967-1970 Assistant Professor of Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
• 1965-1966 Research Fellow in Biophysics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
• 1963-1965 Research Assistant, University of Sheffield, England
• 1964 Ph.D. University of Sheffield, UK (Physiology)
• 1961 B.Sc. University of London, UK (Chemistry & Physiology)

Projects

• since 2006 Advisory Board, Center for Structures of Membrane Proteins, UCSF
• 2006 NIH National Commission on Digestive Diseases
• 2002-2012 Review Panel, NCCR Structural Biology, Swiss National Science Foundation
• 2001-2011 Advisory Board, Broad Medical Research Program
• 1999-2002 Steering Committee, American Physiological Society
• 1986-1989 Councilor, Society of General Physiologists, Councilor, Gastrointestinal Section
• 1983-1986 Chairman, Physiology Study Section, National Institutes of Health
• 1982-1986 Physiology Study Section, National Institutes of Health

Functions

• 2006-2009 Channels, Associate Editor
• 2006 NIH National Commission on Digestive Diseases
• 2002-2012 Review Panel, NCCR Structural Biology, Swiss National Science Foundation
• since 2001 Advisory Board, Broad Medical Research Program
• 2000-2008 Journal of Membrane Biology
• 1999-2002 Councillor, Gastrointestinal Section Steering Committee, American Physiological Society
• 1996-2000 FASEB Journal
• 1991-1992 Current Opinion in Cell Biology Section Editor
• 1986-1989 Pflugers Archiv.  European Journal of Physiology Field Editor
• 1986-1989 Councillor, Society of General Physiologists
• 1983-1986 Chairman, Physiology Study Section, National Institutes of Health
• 1982-1986 Physiology Study Section, National Institutes of Health    
• 1981-1985 Molecular Physiology
• 1977-1989 J. Membr. Biochem.  
• 1977-1990 Amer. J. Physiology, Cell Physiology and Gastrointestinal Sections

Honours and Memberships

• since 2006Member of the German Academy of Science Leopoldina
• 2006 101st UCLA Faculty Researcher Lecturer
• 2006 Honorary Member of the Physiology Society
• 2006 Charles F. Code Memorial Lecturer, Mayo Clinic
• 2005 Fellow of the Royal Society
• 2005 Fellow of the Biophysical Society
• 2005 Plenary Lecturer, 84th Annual Meeting of the German Physiological Society
• since 2004 Distinguished Professor of Physiology
• 2004 Janssen / Am. Gastroenterology Society Award for Sustained Achievement in Digestive Sciences
• 2001 Arnost Kleinzeller Memorial Lecture, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• 2000 Horace W. Davenport Distinguished Lecturer, Experimental Biology 2000, San Diego, USA
• 1999 Pfizer Lecture, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• since 1999 Sherman Mellinkoff Distinguished Chair in Medicine
• 1995 Proctor & Gamble Lecture, School of Life Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne
• 1994 Boehringer Mannheim Lecturer, Association of Clinical     Biochemists, Brighton, U.K.
• 1993 Distinguished Lecturer, Medical College of Virginia
• 1992 Morton Grossman Lecturer, Leuven, Belgium
• 1990 Imperial Chemical Industries, Physiological Sciences Review Lecture, University of Manchester
• 1990 G.W. Harris Memorial Lecture, British Physiological Society
• since 1989 Who's Who in America
• 1989 Smith, Kline and French Prize for G.I. Research, American Physiological Society
• 1989 Walter B. Cannon Lecturer, American Physiological Society
• 1988 McDowall Lecture in Physiology, King's College London, UK
• 1987 Citation Classic, Institute for Scientific Information (Diamond & Wright, 1969, cited over 495 times
• 1985-1992 Senator Jacob K. Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award