I received my medical degree from the Humboldt-University of Berlin in 2003 and split my specialist training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology between the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, in Germany, and Oxford.

I spent 4 years as a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School / Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, USA, where I have been working on the molecular mechanisms of human papillomavirus (HPV) associated carcinogenesis and drug discovery strategies for cervical cancer.

I joined the University of Oxford in 2011. I have a strong clinical interest in human papillomaviruses (HPV) and HPV associated cervical disease. I am leading Oxford's HPV Research Group that aims to better understand the immune response involved in persistent infections with HPV and translate this knowledge into innovative therapeutics. I am the lead consultant for Oxford's Colposcopy Service and Chief-Investigator of multiple national and international clinical trials.

Since 2016, I am an executive board member of the British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (BSCCP) representing the South-East of England, and a BSCCP accredited colposcopy trainer. I am a course facilitator and examiner on the national colposcopy accreditation course. I am a member of the OxCODE operational group, a university-wide consortium that brings together researchers with an interest in early cancer detection and precision prevention. I am on the editorial board of Scientific Reports (Nature Journal) and Therapeutic Advances in Vaccines and Immunotherapy (Sage) and guest editor for Vaccines (Nature Partner Journals). I am also a reviewer for Lancet Regional Health, BMJ Case Reports, Clinical Case Reports and Therapeutic Advances in Vaccines and Immunotherapy. In my spare time I volunteer as expert reviewer for Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust charity and The Eve Appeal as well as other media outlets.

For colposcopy related queries please contact my NHS secretary at gemma.fletcher@ouh.nhs.uk.

For private patient referrals please contact my private secretary at admin@oxfordcolposcopy.com.

Clinical Trials

We are carrying out a number of research studies to help us design and test new treatments for cervical abnormalities caused by infection with oncogenic HPV.

Therapeutic HPV Vaccine

**This trial is now closed for recruitment**

The APOLLO-trial is investigating the broadest therapeutic vaccine to show efficacy against cervical abnormalities associated with 5 of the most common high-risk HPV types and is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving trial sites across the UK and Europe. Oxford is the lead trial site and Dr Hellner is the CHief-Investigator. Read more about the study in The Guardian. If you are interested in participation, please contact the research team on hpv-study@wrh.ox.ac.uk.

HPV Immunity study

**This study is no longer enrolling**

This trial aims to find out how the immune system clears high-risk HPV, the viruses that cause cervical cancer (http://www.jenner.ac.uk/hpv). The study has been looking at HPV induced immunity and clearance in healthy women aged 16-55 years and women with a history of persistent HPV and cervical lesions.

• Dr Gemma Hancock (Senior Postdoctoral Researcher)
• Lisa Buck (Research Midwive, Study Coordinator APOLLO)
  
• Dr Maria Isabella Sereni (Sub-Investigator APOLLO)
• Kelly Barrett (Research Nurse)
  
• Sarah Hutchinson (Research Technican)
• Mr Hooman Soleymani majd (Consultant Gynae-Oncologist, Lead for Cervical Tissue Banking)
• Dr Lucy Dorrell (Visiting Professor in Reproductive Immunology)