Email

hheslop@bcm.edu

Positions

Professor

Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics
Section of Hematology-Oncology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Director - Center for Cell and Gene Therapy

Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
Texas Children's Hospital Houston Methodist

Dan L Duncan Chair

Baylor College of Medicine

Leader, Cancer Cell & Gene Therapy

Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Addresses

TX Childs Feigin Ctr (Office)

Room: TXFC-164006
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (832) 824-4671
hheslop@bcm.edu

Houston Methodist Hospital (Clinic)

6565 Fannin St., Suite 800
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 394-6250

Houston Methodist Hospital (Hospital)

6565 Fannin St., Suite 800
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 394-6250

Education

M.D. from University Of Otago, New Zealand

01/1990 - Otago, New Zealand

Advanced Training from Royal Free Hospital

01/1986 - London, United Kingdom

Advanced Training from Christchurch Hospital

01/1982 - Christchurch, New Zealand

M.B.,Ch.B. from University Of Otago, New Zealand

01/1980 - Otago, New Zealand

Certifications

Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP)

Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA)

Honors & Awards

President

Foundation for Accreditation Cell Therapy (01/2012 - 12/2015)

President

American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (02/2008 - 02/2009)

President

American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (05/2017 - 05/2018)

Member

NCI Subcomittee A (08/2014 - 08/2020)

Chair

BMT-CTN Steering Committee (01/2020 - 01/2022)

Elected

Association of American Physicians (03/2004)

Elected

National Academy of Medicine (10/2021)

Professional Interests

• Cell and Gene Therapy

Professional Statement

Helen Heslop is a physician-scientist engaged in translational research focusing on adoptive immunotherapy with gene-modified effector cells, to improve hemopoietic stem cell transplantation and cancer therapy. A key step in this strategy has been the translation of laboratory findings to Phase I and II clinical trials, as exemplified by studies of Epstein Barr virus-induced lymphoproliferative disease (EBV-LPD), a fatal complication in about 15% of recipients of unrelated or mismatched family member bone marrow transplants in the early 1990s. In collaboration with Dr Cliona Rooney, she developed methods for early diagnosis of this disease and procedures for generating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) from bone marrow donors. These studies were the first to demonstrate that antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells could eradicate an established malignancy and because the cells were genetically marked, we obtained definitive evidence of cell expansion, trafficking to tumor sites and decade-long persistence. Subsequent protocols have extended this approach to Hodgkin's Disease, NHL and nasopharyngeal cancer. She has an additional focus in reconstituting antiviral immunity post transplant in collaboration with Drs. Rooney, Leen and Bollard and is currently leading an NHLBI-funded multicenter trial of allogeneic multivirus specific T cells. She therefore has extensive experience in developing and conducting transplant studies and cell and gene therapy studies under IND and has also obtained orphan drug designation for my initial study. Other areas of research focus in collaboration include identification of novel tumor antigens and genetic modification of CTLs to overcome tumor evasion strategies. In collaboration with Drs. Brenner, Dotti, Savoldo, Gottschalk and Ahded group they are also evaluating if transduction of CTLs with chimeric antigen receptors can allow targeting of CD19+ve, CD30+ve and her2neu+ve malignancies.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Bollard CM, Gottschalk S, Leen AM, Weiss H, Straathof KC, Carrum G, Khalil M, Wu MF, Huls MH, Chang CC, Gresik MV, Gee AP, Brenner MK, Rooney CM, Heslop HE "Complete responses of relapsed lymphoma following genetic modification of tumor-antigen presenting cells and T-lymphocyte transfer.." Blood. 2007 Oct 15;110(8):2838-45. Pubmed PMID: 17609424
• Heslop HE, Slobod KS, Pule MA, Hale GA, Rousseau A, Smith CA, Bollard CM, Liu H, Wu MF, Rochester RJ, Amrolia PJ, Hurwitz JL, Brenner MK, Rooney CM "Long-term outcome of EBV-specific T-cell infusions to prevent or treat EBV-related lymphoproliferative disease in transplant recipients.." Blood. 2010 Feb 4;115(5):925-35. Pubmed PMID: 19880495
• Bollard CM, Rooney CM, Heslop HE "T-cell therapy in the treatment of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease.." Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2012 Aug 14;9(9):510-9. Pubmed PMID: 22801669
• Di Stasi A, Tey SK, Dotti G, Fujita Y, Kennedy-Nasser A, Martinez C, Straathof K, Liu E, Durett AG, Grilley B, Liu H, Cruz CR, Savoldo B, Gee AP, Schindler J, Krance RA, Heslop HE, Spencer DM, Rooney CM, Brenner MK "Inducible apoptosis as a safety switch for adoptive cell therapy.." N. Engl. J. Med.. 2011 Nov 3;365(18):1673-83. Pubmed PMID: 22047558

Funding

SPORE in Lymphoma - #P50 CA126752

$1,519,185.00 (09/01/2007 - 08/31/2022)

Grant funding from NCI

The overall goal of the Lymphoma SPORE at Baylor College of Medicine and Houston Methodist Hospital is to devise in the laboratory, and validate in the clinic, interventional strategies, with the broad objective of improving outcome in lymphomas and in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Immunotherapy of Hematologic Malignancy

$1,250,000.00 (10/01/2018 - 09/30/2023)

Grant funding from Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

The major goals of this program are to develop immunotherapy approaches for a broad range of hematologic malignancies

Training in Cell and Gene Therapy - #T32 HL092332

$276,642.00 (07/01/2003 - 06/30/2023)

Grant funding from NHLBI

This is a training grant for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Cell and Gene Therapy.

Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) - Core Clinical Centers (U01) - #U10 HL10894

$100,000.00 (08/08/2011 - 06/30/2024)

Grant funding from NHLBI