Helen Angell is a Director in the Oncology, Translational Science team in Cambridge, UK

Helen received her Ph.D. ‘Immune Modulation of the Tumour Microenvironment’ from the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy, funded by AstraZeneca and EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council). Upon completing her doctorate, Helen began working in the Laboratory of Integrative Immunology at the Cordeliers Research Centre, Paris. A joint MedImmune-funded postdoc, here Helen was involved in the development and implementation of the ‘Immunoscore’. In addition, Helen undertook research into the characterisation and phenotyping of immune subpopulations, cytokines, chemokines and tumour alteration, associated with colorectal cancer progression, recurrence and metastasis.

In January 2014, Helen joined AstraZeneca’s Oncology Translational Medicine Team. Since then Helen has focussed on development of the leading Immuno-Oncology portfolio, devising strategies for segmentation of immunotherapy and small molecule combination studies with the aim to enhance patient selection for clinical trials, as well as leading external collaborations to further accelerate scientific progress in this field. Helen also led the team who developed the Tumor & Immune Cell Atlas (TICA), a core initiative generating disease linkage data to guide patient selection in clinical trials.



LATEST PROJECT

Characterise the immune microenvironment and identify key determinants that predict patient prognosis, which may serve as either patient biomarkers or potential points of intervention.

IMMUNE PROFILING STRATEGY

Providing immune expertise and managing the immuno-oncology contribution of the translational science aspect for clinical projects, e.g. Tagrisso and Iressa

IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY DISEASE POSITIONING FOR NOVEL INDICATIONS

Characterisation of the immune phenotype and genomic aberrations in different tumour indications as determinants of tumour progression, with the aim to identify novel biomarkers for better clinical management of cancer, including improved prediction of prognosis, patient stratification and tumour monitoring

PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT FOR MEASUREMENT OF IMMUNE PARAMETERS

Development of novel analytical techniques, including IHC digital image analysis and multiplexing, for the reliable quantification of immune biomarkers to provide more robust support for small molecule/immuno-oncology projects

GROUND-BREAKING PATIENT STRATIFICATION

Design and implementation of the Immunoscore. For the first time, tumour progression and invasion were shown to be statistically dependent on the host-immune reaction, where the immune pattern remained the only significant criteria over TNM-classification

ARTICLE PUBLISHED

Raising the importance of tumour immune cell density as a prognostic maker to help predict cancer survival and risk of relapse. Correlating microsatellite instability status with genetic and genomic changes, the TME immune profile and the Immunoscore, in relation to colorectal patient survival

  Featured publications

Olaparib and durvalumab in patients with germline BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer (MEDIOLA): an open-label, multicentre, phase 1/2 basket study

Susan M Domchek, Sophie Postel-Vinay, Seock-Ah Im, Yeon Hee Park, Jean-Pierre Delord, Antoine Italiano, Jerome Alexandre, Benoit You, Sara Bastian, Matthew G Krebs, Ding Wang, Saiama N Waqar, Mark Lanasa, Joon Rhee, Haiyan Gao, Vidalba Rocher-Ros, Emma V Jones, Sakshi Gulati, Anna Coenen-Stass, Iwanka Kozarewa, Zhongwu Lai, Helen K. Angell, Laura Opincar, Pia Herbolsheimer, Bella Kaufman. The Lancet Oncology

The immune contexture and Immunoscore in cancer prognosis and therapeutic efficacy

Daniela Bruni*, Helen K. Angell*, and Jérôme Galon. Nature Reviews Cancer

The tumor microenvironment and Immunoscore are critical determinants of dissemination to distant metastasis

The tumor microenvironment and Immunoscore are critical determinants of dissemination to distant metastasis. Bernhard Mlecnik, Gabriela Bindea, Amos Kirilovsky, Helen K. Angell, Anna C. Obenauf, Marie Tosolini, Sarah Church, Pauline Maby, Tessa Fredriksen, Stéphanie Mauger, Anne Berger, Michael R. Speicher, Franck Pagès, Viia Valge-Archer, Jérôme Galon. Science Translational Medicine, 2016.

Integrative Analyses of Colorectal Cancer Show Immunoscore Is a Stronger Predictor of Patient Survival Than Microsatellite Instability

Integrative Analyses of Colorectal Cancer Show Immunoscore Is a Stronger Predictor of Patient Survival Than Microsatellite Instability. Bernhard Mlecnik, Gabriela Bindea, Helen K Angell, Pauline Maby, David Tougeron, Lucie Lafontaine, Mihaela Angelova, Tessa Fredriksen, Maristella Sasso, Amélie M. Bilocq, Anna C. Obenauf, Anne Berger, Patrick Bruneval, Florence Le Pessot, Arash Rafii, Michael R. Speicher, Zlatko Trajanoski, Richard Sesboüe, Thierry Frebourg, Franck Pagès, Viia Valge-Archer, Jean-Baptiste Latouche, Jérôme Galon. Immunity, 2016.

Correlation between Density of CD8+ T-cell Infiltrate in Microsatellite Unstable Colorectal Cancers and Frameshift Mutations: A Rationale for Personalized Immunotherapy

Correlation between Density of CD8+ T-cell Infiltrate in Microsatellite Unstable Colorectal Cancers and Frameshift Mutations: A Rationale for Personalized Immunotherapy. Pauline Maby, David Tougeron, Bernhard Mlecnik, Mohamad Hamieh, Gabriela Bindea, Helen K Angell, Tessa Fredriksen, Nicolas Elie, Emilie Fauquembergue, Jacques Benichou, Florence Le Pessot, Richard Sesboue, Thierry Frebourg, Jerome Galon, Jean-Baptiste Latouche. Cancer Research, 2015.

CXCL13-CXCR5 Signalling Is Required for the Anti-Tumour Immune Response in Colorectal Cancer

CXCL13-CXCR5 Signalling Is Required for the Anti-Tumour Immune Response in Colorectal Cancer. Maximilian J. Waldner, Gabriela Bindea, Bernhard Mlecnik, Helen K. Angell, Sebastian Foersch, Uta E. Höpken, Stefan J. Wirtz, Christoph Becker, Markus F. Neurath, Jérôme Galon. Gastroenterology, 2014.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of intratumoral cells reveal the immune landscape in human cancer

Spatio-temporal dynamics of intratumoral cells reveal the immune landscape in human cancer.   Gabriela Bindea, Bernhard Mlecnik, Marie Tosolini, Amos Kirilovsky, Maximilian Waldner, Anna C. Obenauf, Helen K. Angell, Tessa Fredriksen, Lucie Lafontaine, Anne Berger, Patrick Bruneval, Wolf Herman Fridman, Christoph Becker, Franck Pagès, Michael R. Speicher, Zlatko Trajanoski, Jérôme Galon. Immunity, 2013.

The continuum of cancer immunosurveillance: Prognostic, predictive and mechanistic signatures

The continuum of cancer immunosurveillance: Prognostic, predictive and mechanistic signatures.  Jérôme Galon, Helen K. Angell, Davide Bedognetti, and Francesco Marincola.  Immunity, 2013.

Microenvironnement immunitaire et survie : l’Immunoscore

Microenvironnement immunitaire et survie : l’Immunoscore. Jérôme Galon, Gabriela Bindea, Bernhard Mlecnik, Helen Angell, Christine Lagorce, Anne Berger, Franck Pagès. Medicine and Science,  2014. Epub 2014 May 5.

Functional network tailored pipeline revealed genetic determinants of tumours associated with in situ lymphocyte proliferation and survival of cancer patients

Functional network tailored pipeline revealed genetic determinants of tumours associated with in situ lymphocyte proliferation and survival of cancer patients.  Bernhard Mlecnik, Gabriela Bindea, Helen K. Angell, Maria Stella Sasso, Anna C. Obenauf, Tessa Fredriksen, Lucie Lafontaine, Amelie M. Bilocq, Amos Kirilovsky, Marie Tosolini, Anne Berger, Wolf Herman Fridman, Arash Rafii, Viia Valge-Archer, Franck Pagès, Michael R. Speicher, Jérôme Galon. Science Translational Medicine, 2014.

The immune landscape of human tumors

The immune landscape of human tumors. Gabriela Bindea, Bernhard Mlecnik, Helen K Angell, Jérôme Galon. Oncoimmunology, 2014.

Towards the introduction of the Immunoscore in the classification of malignant tumors

Towards the introduction of the Immunoscore in the classification of malignant tumors. Jérôme Galon, Bernhard Mlecnik, Gabriela Bindea, Helen K Angell, Anne Berger, et al. Journal of Pathology, 2014.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of intratumoral cells reveal the immune landscape in human cancer

Gabriela Bindea, Bernhard Mlecnik, Marie Tosolini, Amos Kirilovsky, Maximilian Waldner, Anna C. Obenauf, Helen K. Angell, Tessa Fredriksen, Lucie Lafontaine, Anne Berger, Patrick Bruneval, Wolf Herman Fridman, Christoph Becker, Franck Pagès, Michael R. Speicher, Zlatko Trajanoski, Jérôme Galon. Immunity, 2013.

Digital pattern recognition based image analysis enables reliable quantification of immune infiltrates in distinct tissue regions of colorectal cancer and identifies a potential metastatic phenotype

Digital pattern recognition based image analysis enables reliable quantification of immune infiltrates in distinct tissue regions of colorectal cancer and identifies a potential metastatic phenotype.  H.K. Angell, N. Gray, C. Womack, D.I. Pritchard, R.W. Wilkinson, M. Cumberbatch. British Journal Cancer, 2013.

The continuum of cancer immunosurveillance: Prognostic, predictive and mechanistic signatures

The continuum of cancer immunosurveillance: Prognostic, predictive and mechanistic signatures.  Jérôme Galon, Helen K. Angell, Davide Bedognetti, and Francesco Marincola.  Immunity, 2013.

From the immune contexture to the Immunoscore: the role of prognostic and predictive immune markers in cancer

From the immune contexture to the Immunoscore: the role of prognostic and predictive immune markers in cancer.  Helen Angell and Jérôme Galon.  Current Opinion in Immunology, 2013.

Cancer classification using the Immunoscore: A worldwide task force

Cancer classification using the Immunoscore: A worldwide task force.  Jérôme Galon, Franck Pagès, Francesco M Marincola, Helen K Angell, et al. Journal Translational Medicine, 2012.

A study into the potential role of Survivin localization in resistance to drug-induced apoptosis

A study into the potential role of Survivin localization in resistance to drug-induced apoptosis. Angell, H. Bioscience Horizons, 2008.

TGFbeta isoform dependent Smad2/3 kinetics in human lens epithelial cells: a Cellomics analysis

TGFbeta isoform dependent Smad2/3 kinetics in human lens epithelial cells: a Cellomics analysis. Dawes LJ, Angell H, Sleeman M, Reddan JR, Wormstone IM. Experimental Eye Research, 2007.

International validation of the consensus Immunoscore for the classification of colon cancer: a prognostic and accuracy study.

International validation of the consensus Immunoscore for the classification of colon cancer: a prognostic and accuracy study. The Lancet, 2018. Franck Pagès, Bernhard Mlecnik, Florence Marliot, Gabriela Bindea, Fang-Shu Ou, Carlo Bifulco, Alessandro Lugli, Inti Zlobec, Tilman T Rau, Martin D Berger, Iris D Nagtegaal, Elisa Vink-Börger, Arndt Hartmann, Carol Geppert, Julie Kolwelter, Susanne Merkel, Robert Grützmann, Marc Van den Eynde, Anne Jouret-Mourin, Alex Kartheuser, Daniel Léonard, Christophe Remue, Julia Y Wang, P Bavi, Michael H A Roehrl, Pamela S Ohashi, Linh T Nguyen, SeongJun Han, Heather L MacGregor, Sara Hafezi-Bakhtiari, Bradly G Wouters, Giuseppe V Masucci, Emilia K Andersson, Eva Zavadova, Michal Vocka, Jan Spacek, Lubos Petruzelka, Bohuslav Konopasek, Pavel Dundr, Helena Skalova, Kristyna Nemejcova, Gerardo Botti, Fabiana Tatangelo, Paolo Delrio, Gennaro Ciliberto, Michele Maio, Luigi Laghi, Fabio Grizzi, Tessa Fredriksen, Bénédicte Buttard, Mihaela Angelova, Angela Vasaturo, Pauline Maby, Sarah E Church, Helen K Angell, Lucie Lafontaine, Daniela Bruni, Carine El Sissy, Nacilla Haicheur, Amos Kirilovsky, Anne Berger, Christine Lagorce, Je rey P Meyers, Christopher Paustian, Zipei Feng, Carmen Ballesteros-Merino, Jeroen Dijkstra, Carlijn van de Water, Shannon van Lent-van Vliet, Nikki Knijn, Ana-Maria Mușină, Dragos-Viorel Scripcariu, Boryana Popivanova, Mingli Xu, Tomonobu Fujita, Shoichi Hazama, Nobuaki Suzuki, Hiroaki Nagano, Kiyotaka Okuno, Toshihiko Torigoe, Noriyuki Sato, Tomohisa Furuhata, Ichiro Takemasa, Kyogo Itoh, Prabhu S Patel, Hemangini H Vora, Birva Shah, Jayendrakumar B Patel, Kruti N Rajvik, Shashank J Pandya, Shilin N Shukla, Yili Wang, Guanjun Zhang, Yutaka Kawakami, Francesco M Marincola, Paolo A Ascierto, Daniel J Sargent*, Bernard A Fox, Jérôme Galon


Award

2013 Young Investigator Award, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)

Award

2011, The Richard Hambro Award, NCRI Cancer conference

Award

2008 Bioscience Horizons Young Scientist Award

AstraZeneca’s progress in the immuno-oncology field fills me with great excitement! Our emerging data will help us to identify and validate patient biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets, which may enable better treatment decisions, as well as potentially providing novel opportunities with our advancing DNA Damage Response portfolio.

Helen Angell Director, Translational Medicine, Oncology Research & Early Development

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