Associate Professor Nuala Ann Helsby

Research | Current

"Understanding the inherited differences between individuals may help us improve the safe and effective use of medications and other therapies”.

How do your genes influence drug disposition?

Some people can respond well and others may have substantial side effects when given the same medication. Numerous factors affect how the body handles a drug, but one reason is the inherited differences in the expression of drug metabolising enzymes or drug transporters - this is known as pharmacogenetics. There has been a lot of optimism that sequencing the human genome will allow tailored selection of the appropriate drug at the right dose for each individual patient. However, many of the genes important in drug disposition are readily up- and down-regulated by either disease processes, the co-administration of other drugs and even dietary changes. Understanding gene expression and epigenetic regulation (pharmacogenomics) is an important and often overlooked component of “personalised medicine”.

Much of my research focusses on the pharmacogenomics of common cancer medications, because of the very narrow window between a safe and effective dose and life-threatening side effects. I also have an interest in how genomics may predict chronic pain after breast cancer surgery as well as the role of pharmacogenomics in treatments for autoimmune disease.

To do this type of research we need to determine an individual’s genetic make-up, to understand the complex processes underpinning drug disposition, accurately quantify drug levels in a patients and also have clinical information about patient outcomes. This requires strong links between the laboratory and clinicians. We have expertise in measuring drugs and their metabolites using analytical techniques such as LC/MS, genomics and design of clinical trials.

My research group includes:

Dr Kathryn Burns (Maurice & Phyllis Paykel Trust Research Fellow)

Dr Soo Hee Jeong

Umaiyaall Shanmugaraajah, research technician

We are also hosting Dr Edmond Ang (ADHB) a Clinical Research Fellow in Medical Oncology 

as well as postgraduate research students.

 

Teaching | Current

Course director and lecturer for MEDSCI 301 Molecular basis of disease.  

Course director for MEDSCI 701 Special Studies in Medical Sciences.

I also teach on the following courses:

MEDSCI 101G Environmental threats to health

MEDSCI 203 Mechanisms of disease

MEDSCI 301 Molecular basis of disease

MEDSCI 302 Cancer biology

MEDSCI 303 Drug disposition and kinetics

MEDSCI 306 Principles of Toxicology

MEDSCI 706 Genomic medicine

MEDSCI 715 Molecular toxicology

MEDSCI 716 Drug disposition and kinetics

MEDSCI 745 Special topic: Drug development

PHARM 767 Advanced pharmacotherapy

MBChB221B Principles of clinical pharmacology

Nursing785 Clinical reasoning in pharmacotherapeutics

 

Postgraduate supervision

Current supervision

• Daniel Chiang (PhD candidate)
• Maia van Kan (PhD candidate)
• Minghan Yong  (PhD candidate)

Co-supervision with Dr Kathryn Burns

• Ursula Burns Maybury (MSc candidate)
• Alice Cho (BSc Hons candidate)

    

Distinctions/Honours

• International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) https://iuphar.org/.
  • Drug Metabolism and Drug Transporter section: Vice-chair (2018-2022) and councillor on the executive board  (2014-2018) 

• Member of the pharmacogenomics research network (PGRN) www.pgrn.org (2019- )

•  PharmVar (pharmacogene varation consortium) www.pharmvar.org  Member (2019- present)

•  Australasian Society of Clinical Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology (ASCEPT) www.ascept.org
  • Member of council (2017-present)
  • Chair of ASCEPT-NZ section (2017-present)
  • Secretary of ASCEPT-NZ section (Nov 2011-2014)
  • NZ representative, Pharmacogenetics Special Interest Group (2007-present)

•  British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652125
  • Executive editor  (2012-present)

 

 

Responsibilities

• Review editor for Frontiers in Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics (2011-present)

• Ad hoc reviewer for the international journals: Clinical Pharmacokinetics, Molecular Pharmaceutics and Special issue of Mutation Research - Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis, Chemico-Biological Interactions, Cancer Gene Therapy, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, Drug Metabolism and Drug Interactions, Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, Australian Medical Student Journal, European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics

• Invited member of the reviewer panel for Current Drug Metabolism and  Drug Metabolism Letters  (2012-2014)

Areas of expertise

Pharmacogenetics, human pharmacology, biotransformation, transporters and cancer drugs

Committees/Professional groups/Services

Member

• British Pharmacology Society
• Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology
• New Zealand Society for Oncology

• Member of the grant assessment committee (2017- present) for Cancer Research Trust NZ www.cancerresearchtrustnz.org.nz