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Dr Helena Helmby

Associate Professor

United Kingdom

Tel.
020 7927 2424
I completed my PhD at Stockholm University in 1998. The subject of my thesis work was various aspects of immune regulation during malaria infection. I then moved to Manchester University where I studied T cell regulation and development of mucosal immunity during intestinal nematode infections. I moved to LSHTM in 2002 on a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship followed by a RCUK Fellowship in Helminth Immunology and a Lectureship in 2011.

Affiliations

Department of Infection Biology
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Centres

Malaria Centre
Vaccine Centre
Antimicrobial Resistance Centre

Teaching

I am the Programme Director for MSc Immunology of Infectious Diseases at LSHTM, and the module organiser for the Term 1 Immunology of Infectious Diseases module (3120) and the Immunology of Parasitic Infection module (3177). My teaching activities include various aspects of general and applied immunology but I also teach helminthology on the Medical Parasitology (including the field course) and Tropical Medicine and International Health MSc's. I also teach on the DTM&H course. In addition, l guest lecture at various other UK universities both at undergraduate and post graduate level.

Research

My main research interests are centered around the effects of helminth infections on the immune system. Schistosomiasis and intestinal dwelling nematodes are amongst the most common infections of man and approximately one in three of the world's population harbours at least one species and most infections are in low income countries. Helminth infections are recognized as one of the world’s most important causes of physical and intellectual growth retardation in children. An understanding of helminth-induced immune activation is essential for the development of vaccines that can stimulate protective immunity while avoiding pathological consequences. The main focus of my work is to increase our understanding of mechanisms of immune regulation and resistance and how chronic worm infections may alter immune responses to unrelated infections.
Research Area
Diagnostics
Drug discovery and development
Global Health
Helminths
Immunisation
Innate immunity
Parasites
Protozoa
T-cell immunology
Vaccines
Immunoepidemiology
Immunology
Immunopathology
Microbiology
Parasitology
Pathology
Vaccinology
Capacity development
Disease and Health Conditions
Malaria
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Schistosomiasis
Tropical diseases
Infectious diseases
Zoonoses
Soil transmitted helminths
Nematodes
Intestinal helminths
Country
Philippines
Region
East Asia & Pacific (developing only)
South Asia

Selected Publications

The discovery of a novel series of compounds with single-dose efficacy against juvenile and adult Schistosoma species.
Gardner, JM F; Mansour, NR; Bell, AS; HELMBY, H; Bickle, Q;
2021
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
Cervicovaginal Immune Activation in Zambian Women With Female Genital Schistosomiasis.
STURT, AS; WEBB, EL; PATTERSON, C; Phiri, CR; Mweene, T; Kjetland, EF; Mudenda, M; Mapani, J; Mutengo, MM; Chipeta, J; Van Dam, GJ; Corstjens, PL A M; AYLES, H; HAYES, RJ; Hansingo, I; Cools, P; Van Lieshout, L; HELMBY, H; McComsey, GA; FRANCIS, SC; BUSTINDUY, AL;
2021
Frontiers in immunology
T-Bet Controls Cellularity of Intestinal Group 3 Innate Lymphoid Cells.
Schroeder, J-H; Meissl, K; Hromadová, D; Lo, JW; Neves, JF; Howard, JK; HELMBY, H; Powell, N; Strobl, B; Lord, GM;
2020
Frontiers in Immunology
Schistosoma japonicum SjE16.7 Protein Promotes Tumor Development via the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE).
Wu, C; Du, X; Tang, L; Wu, J; Zhao, W; Guo, X; Liu, D; Hu, W; HELMBY, H; Chen, G; Wang, Z;
2020
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
A Subset of CCL25-Induced Gut-Homing T Cells Affects Intestinal Immunity to Infection and Cancer.
Fu, H; Jangani, M; Parmar, A; Wang, G; Coe, D; Spear, S; Sandrock, I; Capasso, M; Coles, M; Cornish, G; HELMBY, H; Marelli-Berg, FM;
2019
Frontiers in Immunology
Epithelial-Cell-Derived Phospholipase A2 Group 1B Is an Endogenous Anthelmintic.
Entwistle, LJ; Pelly, VS; Coomes, SM; Kannan, Y; Perez-Lloret, J; Czieso, S; Silva Dos Santos, M; MacRae, JI; Collinson, L; SESAY, A; Nikolov, N; Metidji, A; HELMBY, H; Hui, DY; Wilson, MS;
2017
Cell host & microbe
Chronic Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection Mutes Immune Responses to Mycobacterial Infection Distal to the Gut.
Obieglo, K; Feng, X; Bollampalli, VP; Dellacasa-Lindberg, I; Classon, C; Österblad, M; HELMBY, H; Hewitson, JP; Maizels, RM; Gigliotti Rothfuchs, A; Nylén, S;
2016
Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md
IL-9-mediated survival of type 2 innate lymphoid cells promotes damage control in helminth-induced lung inflammation.
Turner, J-E; Morrison, PJ; Wilhelm, C; Wilson, M; Ahlfors, H; Renauld, J-C; Panzer, U; HELMBY, H; Stockinger, B;
2013
The Journal of experimental medicine
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