![Helen Brown](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/937?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Helen Brown
(she/her)
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Helen Brown
Lecturer - Microbiology (T&R)
School of Biosciences
Overview
My research investigates how typically commensal microbiome members become opportunistic pathogens, contributing to chronic wounds and prostate cancer. Both conditions provide immune-compromised niches where microbial persistence, dysbiosis, and inflammation drive disease progression. They are a research priority due to their increasing global burden, complex aetiology and limited treatment options. By dissecting microbial interactions in these distinct yet related environments, I aim to uncover mechanisms that influence aging and health. Bridging microbiology, infection biology, and therapeutics, I collaborate across disciplines to develop innovative, patient-centred strategies for microbiome modulation and disease prevention. I have three major interrelated areas of research:
Cutibacterium acnes colonisation of the prostate: C. acnes is a normal and abundant member of the skin microbiome, dominating the anaerobic environment within sebaceous glands. However, it also has a role in implant-related infections and has been identified in the prostate biopsies of men with prostate cancer. The cancer environment is anoxic, providing a suitable environment for C. acnes colonisation. It is also well-known that microbial colonisation of niches outside the normal microbiome leads to increased inflammation, in the tumour environment this inflammation may further drive cancer progression.
Microbial colonisation of chronic wounds: Chronic wounds are rapidly colonised by multiple microbial species commonly found in the local environment (i.e. soil and water) and/or human microbiome. While it is known that the majority of chronic wounds are colonised with multiple species, only a small proportion of wounds will become colonised to the extent that they are considered clinically “infected”. Using multi-species biofilm models and co-culture (bacterial-mammalian cell) models we aim to explore how species integrate into existing wound communities and the factors driving overgrowth leading to symptomatic infection.
Probiotic treatment of infected wound sites: Standard antibiotic treatments have poor efficacy against clinically diagnosed chronic wound infections, due to both the intrinsic resistance of many species within the wound and their biofilm lifestyle. As such novel treatment strategies are urgently needed, with probiotic products and fermented foods providing a rich source of alternative antimicrobial products. We are exploring the antibiofilm and antimicrobial potential of fermented foods, porbitoics and natural products for the treatment of complex wound biofilms.
Publication
2025
- Miles, A., Porch, A., Choi, H., Cripps, S., Brown, H. and Williams, C. F. 2025. Direct measurement of non-thermal microwave effects on bacterial growth and redox dynamics using a novel high-throughput waveguide applicator. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 383(2297), article number: 20240073. (10.1098/rsta.2024.0073)
- Metris, A. et al. 2025. Assessing the safety of microbiome perturbations. Microbial Genomics 11(5), article number: 1405. (10.1099/mgen.0.001405)
2024
- Brown, H. L., Pursley, I. G., Horton, D. L. and La Ragione, R. M. 2024. One health: a structured review and commentary on trends and themes. One Health Outlook 6(1), article number: 17. (10.1186/s42522-024-00111-x)
2023
- Kempf, F. et al. 2023. Inflammatory responses induced by the monophasic variant of salmonella typhimurium in pigs play a role in the high shedder phenotype and fecal microbiota composition. mSystems 8(1), article number: e00852-22. (10.1128/msystems.00852-22)
2022
- Knight, R. et al. 2022. Oral progenitor cell line-derived small extracellular vesicles as a treatment for preferential wound healing outcome. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 11(8), pp. 861-875. (10.1093/stcltm/szac037)
- Abbott, C., Grout, E., Morris, T. and Brown, H. L. 2022. Cutibacterium acnes biofilm forming clinical isolates modify the formation and structure of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms, increasing their susceptibility to antibiotics. Anaerobe 76, article number: 102580. (10.1016/j.anaerobe.2022.102580)
- Brown, H. L. 2022. Microbial growth. In: Rezaei, N. ed. Encyclopedia of Infection and Immunity., Vol. 1. Elsevier, pp. 324-335., (10.1016/B978-0-12-818731-9.00190-7)
2021
- Brown, H., Clayton, A. and Stephens, P. 2021. The role of bacterial extracellular vesicles in chronic wound infections: current knowledge and future challenges. Wound Repair and Regeneration 29(6), pp. 864-880. (10.1111/wrr.12949)
2020
- Brown, H. L. et al. 2020. Antibacterial and anti-virulence activity of manuka honey against genetically diverse Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 86, article number: e01768-20. (10.1128/AEM.01768-20)
- Brown, H. L., Passey, J. L., Getino, M., Pursley, I., Basu, P., Horton, D. L. and La Ragione, R. M. 2020. The One Health European Joint Programme (OHEJP), 2018-2022: an exemplary One Health initiative. Journal of Medical Microbiology 69(8), pp. 1037-1039. (10.1099/jmm.0.001228)
2015
- Jenkins, R., Roberts, A. and Brown, H. L. 2015. On the antibacterial effects of manuka honey: mechanistic insights. Research and Reports in Biology 6, pp. 215-224. (10.2147/RRB.S75754)
- Reuter, M., Periago, P. M., Mulholland, F., Brown, H. L. and van Vliet, A. H. M. 2015. A PAS domain-containing regulator controls flagella-flagella interactions in Campylobacter jejuni. Frontiers in Microbiology 6, article number: 770. (10.3389/fmicb.2015.00770)
- Brown, H. L., Hanman, K., Reuter, M., Betts, R. P. and van Vliet, A. H. M. 2015. Campylobacter jejuni biofilms contain extracellular DNA and are sensitive to DNase I treatment. Frontiers in Microbiology 6, article number: 699. (10.3389/fmicb.2015.00699)
- Gerlach, R. G., Brown, H. L., Reuter, M., Hanman, K., Betts, R. P. and van Vliet, A. H. M. 2015. Prevention of biofilm formation and removal of existing biofilms by extracellular DNases of Campylobacter jejuni. PLoS ONE 10(3), article number: e0121680. (10.1371/journal.pone.0121680)
2014
- Brown, H. L., Reuter, M., Salt, L. J., Cross, K. L., Betts, R. P., van Vliet, A. H. M. and Griffiths, M. W. 2014. Chicken juice enhances surface attachment and biofilm formation of Campylobacter jejuni. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 80(22), pp. 7053-7060. (10.1128/AEM.02614-14)
2013
- Marlow, V. L., Stanley-Wall, N. R., MacLean, T., Brown, H. and Kiley, T. B. 2013. Blast a biofilm: a hands-on activity for school children and members of the public. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 14(2), pp. 152-254. (10.1128/jmbe.v14i2.563)
- Brown, H. L., van Vliet, A. H. M., Betts, R. P. and Reuter, M. 2013. Tetrazolium reduction allows assessment of biofilm formation byCampylobacter jejuniin a food matrix model. Journal of Applied Microbiology 115(5), pp. 1212-1221. (10.1111/jam.12316)
Articles
- Miles, A., Porch, A., Choi, H., Cripps, S., Brown, H. and Williams, C. F. 2025. Direct measurement of non-thermal microwave effects on bacterial growth and redox dynamics using a novel high-throughput waveguide applicator. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 383(2297), article number: 20240073. (10.1098/rsta.2024.0073)
- Metris, A. et al. 2025. Assessing the safety of microbiome perturbations. Microbial Genomics 11(5), article number: 1405. (10.1099/mgen.0.001405)
- Brown, H. L., Pursley, I. G., Horton, D. L. and La Ragione, R. M. 2024. One health: a structured review and commentary on trends and themes. One Health Outlook 6(1), article number: 17. (10.1186/s42522-024-00111-x)
- Kempf, F. et al. 2023. Inflammatory responses induced by the monophasic variant of salmonella typhimurium in pigs play a role in the high shedder phenotype and fecal microbiota composition. mSystems 8(1), article number: e00852-22. (10.1128/msystems.00852-22)
- Knight, R. et al. 2022. Oral progenitor cell line-derived small extracellular vesicles as a treatment for preferential wound healing outcome. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 11(8), pp. 861-875. (10.1093/stcltm/szac037)
- Abbott, C., Grout, E., Morris, T. and Brown, H. L. 2022. Cutibacterium acnes biofilm forming clinical isolates modify the formation and structure of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms, increasing their susceptibility to antibiotics. Anaerobe 76, article number: 102580. (10.1016/j.anaerobe.2022.102580)
- Brown, H., Clayton, A. and Stephens, P. 2021. The role of bacterial extracellular vesicles in chronic wound infections: current knowledge and future challenges. Wound Repair and Regeneration 29(6), pp. 864-880. (10.1111/wrr.12949)
- Brown, H. L. et al. 2020. Antibacterial and anti-virulence activity of manuka honey against genetically diverse Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 86, article number: e01768-20. (10.1128/AEM.01768-20)
- Brown, H. L., Passey, J. L., Getino, M., Pursley, I., Basu, P., Horton, D. L. and La Ragione, R. M. 2020. The One Health European Joint Programme (OHEJP), 2018-2022: an exemplary One Health initiative. Journal of Medical Microbiology 69(8), pp. 1037-1039. (10.1099/jmm.0.001228)
- Jenkins, R., Roberts, A. and Brown, H. L. 2015. On the antibacterial effects of manuka honey: mechanistic insights. Research and Reports in Biology 6, pp. 215-224. (10.2147/RRB.S75754)
- Reuter, M., Periago, P. M., Mulholland, F., Brown, H. L. and van Vliet, A. H. M. 2015. A PAS domain-containing regulator controls flagella-flagella interactions in Campylobacter jejuni. Frontiers in Microbiology 6, article number: 770. (10.3389/fmicb.2015.00770)
- Brown, H. L., Hanman, K., Reuter, M., Betts, R. P. and van Vliet, A. H. M. 2015. Campylobacter jejuni biofilms contain extracellular DNA and are sensitive to DNase I treatment. Frontiers in Microbiology 6, article number: 699. (10.3389/fmicb.2015.00699)
- Gerlach, R. G., Brown, H. L., Reuter, M., Hanman, K., Betts, R. P. and van Vliet, A. H. M. 2015. Prevention of biofilm formation and removal of existing biofilms by extracellular DNases of Campylobacter jejuni. PLoS ONE 10(3), article number: e0121680. (10.1371/journal.pone.0121680)
- Brown, H. L., Reuter, M., Salt, L. J., Cross, K. L., Betts, R. P., van Vliet, A. H. M. and Griffiths, M. W. 2014. Chicken juice enhances surface attachment and biofilm formation of Campylobacter jejuni. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 80(22), pp. 7053-7060. (10.1128/AEM.02614-14)
- Marlow, V. L., Stanley-Wall, N. R., MacLean, T., Brown, H. and Kiley, T. B. 2013. Blast a biofilm: a hands-on activity for school children and members of the public. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education 14(2), pp. 152-254. (10.1128/jmbe.v14i2.563)
- Brown, H. L., van Vliet, A. H. M., Betts, R. P. and Reuter, M. 2013. Tetrazolium reduction allows assessment of biofilm formation byCampylobacter jejuniin a food matrix model. Journal of Applied Microbiology 115(5), pp. 1212-1221. (10.1111/jam.12316)
Book sections
- Brown, H. L. 2022. Microbial growth. In: Rezaei, N. ed. Encyclopedia of Infection and Immunity., Vol. 1. Elsevier, pp. 324-335., (10.1016/B978-0-12-818731-9.00190-7)
Research
Bacterial-host interactions:
- Interactions between fibroblasts (and their secreted components) and their influence on Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity
- Understanding how mixed species bacterial communities respond to the host secretome
Bacterial-bacterial interactions:
- Understanding how the interplay between commensals and opportunistic pathogens can drive pathogenicity and persistence
- Using the commensal microbiome community to control opportunistic pathogens
Novel therapeutic interventions for chronic wounds:
- Using microwaves to stimulate dermal wound healing and resolve chronic wound infections
- Novel antimicrobial/antibiofilm therapeutic strategies utilising the host secretome
Teaching
I teach on the following modules:
BI1001 Skills for Science
BI1003 Organisms and the Environment
BI2332 Concepts of Disease
BI3155 Infection biology and Epidemiology
I am also available to supervise BSc, MSc and MRes students
Biography
2022: Lecturer in Microbiology, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University
2019 - 2022: Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University
2018 - 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Veterinary Medicine, Surrey University
2016 - 2018: Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University
2015 - 2016: Postdoctoral Researcher, Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University
2011 - 2015: PhD student, Institue of Food Research/University of East Anglia
2004 - 2011: Experimental Officer, Biosafety Division, Covance Laboratories Ltd
Honours and awards
2013: Society of General Microbiology Outreach Award
2013: University of East Anglia (CUE EAST) Outreach Newcomer Award
Professional memberships
2012 onwards - member of the Microbiology Society
Committees and reviewing
2020 onwards: Editor of Access Microbiology
Contact Details
+44 29225 14560
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room W2/03, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
Research themes
Specialisms
- Aged health care
- Medical bacteriology
- Medical microbiology
- Microbiology