Dr Helina Marshall completed her PhD at University College London, focussing on mechanisms of differential virulence between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus mitis. From there she went on to complete postdoctoral positions at Queen’s University Belfast and University College Dublin. In 2020, Helina was named as one of the 30 under 30 Outstanding Young Scientists Worldwide by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease.  Helina is currently a Chancellor's Fellow and Assistant Professor based at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland and an adjunct Assistant Professor at University College Dublin. Helina is a founding member and Editor-in-Chief of the open research platform, Access Microbiology.