Profile photo Helen Leavis

Helen Leavis

Full Professor

Strategic program(s):

Biography

Helen L. Leavis has been appointed Professor of Clinical Immunology as of May 1, 2025, and has been working as an internist-clinical immunologist at the Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology at UMC Utrecht since 2013. Her clinical focus is on patients with complex immunological diseases, including primary immunodeficiencies and autoinflammatory disorders. As a clinical scientist, Helen is able to dedicate part of her time to initiating and conducting scientific research. As a (principal) investigator, her research centers on the development of healthcare innovations for these patients using AI tools, and on making new treatments available through precision medicine and drug repurposing.

Helen obtained her medical degree in 2003 from Utrecht University, where she also earned her PhD in 2007 with a thesis titled Evolutionary insights into CC17 Enterococcus faecium. From 2016 to 2022, Helen Leavis served as program manager of the subspecialty of Allergy & Clinical Immunology within Internal Medicine at the UMC Utrecht. Throughout her career, Helen Leavis has held various national and international academic roles, including reviewer and editor for medical journals, organizer of scientific conferences, and advisor to professional organizations and funding bodies. She is (co-)author of approximately 90 publications in international scientific journals.

Research groups

Rheumatology & clinical immunology

Research aim

To improve clinical practice by optimizing diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of rheumatic and immune-mediated and immune-deficient inflammatory diseases
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Primary immunodeficiency

Research aim

To address unmet medical needs by detecting novel primary immunodeficiency, and improving clinical practice by optimizing diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease.
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Translational microbiomics

Research aim

Our aim is to translate human microbiome knowledge to improved diagnostic tests and clinical interventions by incorporating systems biology into clinical epidemiological studies, conducting mechanistic laboratory studies, and linking the two.
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Recent publications

Longitudinal assessment of immunoglobulin response and disease progression in critically ill patients with community acquired pneumonia Emma Rademaker, Lisette M Vernooij, Tom van der Poll, Marc J M Bonten, Helen Leavis, Olaf L Cremer, Lennie P G Derde
Critical care (London, England), 2024, vol. 28
Comprehensive reanalysis for CNVs in ES data from unsolved rare disease cases results in new diagnoses German Demidov, Burcu Yaldiz, José Garcia-Pelaez, Elke de Boer, Nika Schuermans, Liedewei Van de Vondel, Ida Paramonov, Lennart F. Johansson, Francesco Musacchia, Elisa Benetti, Gemma Bullich, Karolis Sablauskas, Sergi Beltran, Christian Gilissen, Alexander Hoischen, Stephan Ossowski, Richarda de Voer, Katja Lohmann, Carla Oliveira, Ana Topf, Lisenka E.L.M. Vissers, Kristina Zguro, Federico Zara, Ioannis Zaganas, Vicente A. Yépez, Brunhilde Wirth, David Webb, Hannah Verdin, Erika Van Nieuwenhove, Joris van Montfrans, Roxane van Heurck, Lars van der Veken, Laura Valle, Paolo Uva, Bjarne Udd, Aurelien Trimouille, Rachel Thompson, Marco Tartaglia, Yves Sznajer, Pasquale Striano, Verena Steinke-Lange, Martha Spilioti, Paolo Scudieri, Evelin Schröck, Katherine Schon, Marcello Scala, Helen Leavis, Manon Huibers, Marielle van Gijn, Geert de Vries, , Steven Laurie
npj Genomic Medicine, 2024, vol. 9
The association of inflammatory markers with frailty and in-hospital mortality in older COVID-19 patients Estelle Tran Van Hoi, Brent Appelman, Simon Mooijaart, Virgil A S H Dalm, Harmke A Polinder Bos, Diana van Heemst, Bas F M van Raaij, Raymond Noordam, Anna Kuranova, Jacobien J Hoogerwerf, Geeske Peeters, Annemieke Smorenberg, , , , , KGM Moons, Maarten van Smeden, Helen Leavis
Experimental Gerontology, 2024, vol. 195
YajC, a predicted membrane protein, promotes Enterococcus faecium biofilm formation in vitro and in a rat endocarditis model Janetta Top, Xinglin Zhang, Antoni P.A. Hendrickx, Sjef Boeren, Willem van Schaik, Johannes Huebner, Rob J.L. Willems, Helen L. Leavis, Fernanda L. Paganelli
FEMS Microbes, 2024, vol. 5
Pulmonary Computed Tomography Screening Frequency in Primary Antibody Deficiency Bas M Smits, Sharisa L Boland, Marjolein E Hol, Rana Dandis, Helen Leavis, Pim A de Jong, Sabine M P J Prevaes, Firdaus A A Mohamed Hoesein, Joris M van Montfrans, Pauline M Ellerbroek
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 2024, vol. 12, p.1037-1048.e3
Point-of-care neutrophil CD64 as a rule in diagnostic test for bacterial infections in the emergency department N L M van de Ven, S H Bongers, R Spijkerman, L Koenderman, L P H Leenen, F Hietbrink, , HL Leavis, OL Cremer
BMC Emergency Medicine, 2023, vol. 23, p.1-10