Professor Ben Wheeler is a Professor in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. He holds the qualifications MB ChB (Otago), DCH, PhD, CCE, and FRACP. As a paediatric endocrinologist and paediatrician, he works for the University of Otago and Te Whatu Ora Southern. Wheeler serves as Head of Child Health in the Dunedin School of Medicine, Co-Director of the New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit, and a council member for the Asia Pacific Paediatric Endocrinology Society and the Australian and New Zealand Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes. His clinical practice encompasses children's health, paediatric endocrinology, and diabetes management.
Professor Wheeler's research centres on access to and use of innovative technologies for children and young people with diabetes, factors influencing glycaemic control, and vitamin D and bone health during pregnancy, lactation, and infancy. He leads multiple clinical trials and collaborative studies, including investigations into automated insulin delivery and continuous glucose monitoring. In 2025, he received the Beaven Medal from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, jointly with Associate Professor Martin de Bock, recognizing excellence in translational health research. Their contributions have shaped international guidelines and driven nationwide funding for automated insulin delivery and continuous glucose monitoring for all New Zealanders with type 1 diabetes, establishing it as a global gold standard. Wheeler has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications, including Automated Insulin Delivery for People With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: An International Consensus on Best Practice (Diabetes Care, 2025), The KiwiDiab First National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (2025), Glycaemic outcomes in Australasian children and adults with type 1 diabetes using FreeStyle Libre (Internal Medicine Journal, 2023), and Efficacy, safety, and user experience of DIY or open-source artificial pancreas systems: a systematic review (Acta Diabetologica, 2021). He presented his Inaugural Professorial Lecture in 2023.