Dr Helena Helmby
PhD
Associate Professor
LSHTM
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom
Fax.
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
Centres
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.