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Dr Helena Helmby

PhD

Associate Professor

Room
Room 233

LSHTM
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom

Tel.
020 7927 2424

Fax.
020 7323 5687

Helena Helmby completed her PhD at Stockholm University in 1998. The subject of her thesis work was various aspects of immune regulation during malaria infection. She then moved to Manchester University where she studied T cell regulation and development of mucosal immunity during intestinal nematode infections. She joined the LSHTM in 2002 on a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship followed by a RCUK Fellowship in Helminth Immunology in 2006, and a Lectureship in 2011.

Affiliations

Department of Infection Biology
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases

Centres

Malaria Centre
Vaccine Centre

Teaching

Helena's teaching activities include various aspects of immunology on the Immunology of Infectious Diseases MSc, but she also teaches helminthology on the Medical Parasitology (including the field course) and Tropical Medicine and International Health MSc's. She also teaches on the DTM&H course. She is the module organiser for Immunology of Parasitic Infection (3177).

Research

Helena's main research interest is to study 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 Helena's 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. She is currently the PI for a MRC funded project investigating human immune responses to Schistosoma japonicum infections in the Philippines. In addition she is interested in various aspects of nutrition and maternal immune responses in relation to helminth infections.

Research Area
Diagnostics
Drug discovery and development
Helminths
Hygiene
Innate immunity
Maternal health
Micronutrients
Parasites
T-cell immunology
Vaccines
Water
Disease control
Global Health
Immunisation
Protozoa
Discipline
Immunoepidemiology
Immunopathology
Immunology
Medicine
Nutrition
Parasitology
Pathology
Pharmacology
Vaccinology
Disease and Health Conditions
Chronic disease
Diarrhoeal diseases
Infectious disease
Malaria
Malnutrition
Allergy
Asthma
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
Schistosomiasis
Tropical diseases
Zoonotic disease
Soil-transmitted helminths
Country
Philippines
Region
World

Selected Publications

The discovery of a novel series of compounds with single-dose efficacy against juvenile and adult Schistosoma species.
Gardner JMF; 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
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
Front Immunol
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
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
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
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
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
An IL-9 fate reporter demonstrates the induction of an innate IL-9 response in lung inflammation.
Wilhelm C; Hirota K; Stieglitz B; Van Snick J; Tolaini M; Lahl K; Sparwasser T; Helmby H; Stockinger B
2011
Nature immunology
Association of schistosomiasis with false-positive HIV test results in an African adolescent population.
Everett DB; Baisely KJ; McNerney R; Hambleton I; Chirwa T; Ross DA; Changalucha J; Watson-Jones D; Helmby H; Dunne DW
2010
Journal of clinical microbiology
Neuropathogenesis of human and murine malaria.
Riley EM; Couper KN; Helmby H; Hafalla JCR; de Souza JB; Langhorne J; Jarra WB; Zavala F
2010
Trends in parasitology
Helminths and our immune system: friend or foe?
Helmby H
2009
Parasitology international
Transforming growth factor-beta 'reprograms' the differentiation of T helper 2 cells and promotes an interleukin 9-producing subset.
Veldhoen M; Uyttenhove C; van Snick J; Helmby H; Westendorf A; Buer J; Martin B; Wilhelm C; Stockinger B
2008
Nature immunology
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