Helen Rachel Patricia Phillips

Helen Rachel Patricia Phillips is an Assistant Professor at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences and the Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme. She serves as Supervisor for the Doctoral Programme in Wildlife Biology and is actively engaged in research on soil biodiversity, particularly focusing on earthworm ecology and macroecology. Her work bridges fundamental ecological research with practical conservation applications.

Dr. Phillips received her PhD in "Effects of land use and habitat fragmentation on local biodiversity" from Imperial College London in September 2017. Her doctoral research laid the foundation for her current work in soil biodiversity and macroecology.

Dr. Phillips' research focuses on understanding patterns and processes of soil biodiversity, with particular emphasis on earthworm ecology. Her work spans multiple scales, from local community dynamics to global biodiversity patterns. She investigates how global change drivers such as land use, climate change, and pollution affect soil organisms, and how these changes impact ecosystem functioning. Her research integrates field studies, meta-analyses, and large-scale collaborative initiatives to address critical questions in soil ecology and conservation. She is particularly interested in developing practical conservation strategies for soil invertebrates.

Analysis of Dr. Phillips' recent publications reveals a strong focus on global soil biodiversity patterns, conservation applications, and methodological advances in soil ecology. Her work increasingly emphasizes collaborative, large-scale initiatives like the Soil BON Earthworm project. There's a clear trend toward translating ecological research into practical conservation actions and policy recommendations, particularly regarding earthworm conservation. Her research also shows growing integration of citizen science approaches and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Dr. Phillips has received notable recognition for her work:

• Transferpreis of the University of Leipzig for the "Translating Soil Biodiversity" team (2025)

Dr. Phillips serves as a supervisor for the Doctoral Programme in Wildlife Biology and is actively involved in mentoring early-career researchers. She leads the Academy of Finland-funded project "Partitioning the impacts of global changes on earthworm communities" (2024-2028), which represents significant research funding for her work. Her editorial roles, including membership on the editorial board of Journal of Animal Ecology, further demonstrate her leadership in the ecological research community.

Dr. Phillips is actively involved in several international working groups, including the sMacroS Working Group, LandWorm Working Group, and the 4th Global Soil Biodiversity Conference scientific committee. Through these collaborations, she contributes to advancing the field of soil biodiversity research and fostering international scientific cooperation. Her Ecological Data Science research group serves as a hub for innovative approaches to understanding soil ecological patterns and processes.