Heli Harvala

Heli Harvala is a Clinical Professor and Consultant Medical Virologist at NHS Blood and Transplant, leading the Blood Safety research team within the NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit at the University of Oxford. She is also Chair of the WHO R&D Blueprint group on Picornaviruses and leads the European Non-Polio Enterovirus Network (ENPEN).

• Affiliations: University of Oxford, NHS Blood and Transplant, Public Health Agency of Sweden (former), Royal College of Pathologists

Education:

• MD - University of Turku, Finland
• MSc Organic Chemistry - University of Turku
• PhD Virology - University of Turku
• Fellowship in Medical Virology - Edinburgh
• European Public Health Microbiology fellowship - Sweden

Research focuses on:

• Transfusion-transmitted viral infections
• Molecular epidemiology of enteroviruses/parechoviruses
• Next-generation sequencing for blood donation screening
• Emerging pathogens: identified occult hepatitis B as transfusion risk
• COVID-19: led SARS-CoV-2 testing for convalescent plasma in England

Professional roles:

• Executive Committee Member - European Society for Clinical Virology
• Programme Committee Member - European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
• Chair - Microbiology Specialist Interest Group (British Blood Transfusion Society)
• Chair - RCPath Senior Virology Examiners Panel

Labs/Networks:

• NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Unit
• European Non-Polio Enterovirus Network (ENPEN)