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Dr Helen Brown
(she)
Lecturer - Microbiology (T&R)
- Available for postgraduate supervision
School of Biosciences
Overview
I am a Lecturer in Microbiology. My research interest is biofilm formation as a resistance and pathogenicity mechanism. My current research focuses on interactions between fibroblasts and opportunistic pathogens within chronic wound infections. Bacteria contaminate and form biofilms within wounds early in the healing process and while we know the majority of wounds contain biofilms, only a subsection of these communities go on to cause symptomatic infections. I hope to understand how host-microbial and microbial-microbial interactions are able to influence wound healing and the opportunity for symptomatic infections to form. I focus predominantly on opportunistic pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, which are often part of the local environmental or host microbial communities, but in the right conditions are able to cause infections. Prior to starting my PhD, I worked for six years in the pharmaceutical industry, using mammalian cell-based assays to assess drug biological safety and potency.
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 (10.1098/rsta.2024.0073)
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
- 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)
- 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)
- 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 (10.1098/rsta.2024.0073)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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
BrownH19@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29225 14560
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room W2/12, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
+44 29225 14560
Sir Martin Evans Building, Room W2/12, Museum Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AX
Research themes
Specialisms
- Aged health care
- Medical bacteriology
- Medical microbiology
- Microbiology