Dr. Helen Hesketh

Helen's research interests are in the biological control of invertebrate pests and the ecology of insect pathogens, especially insect pathogenic viruses and fungi. She is particularly interested in how co-infections of pathogens (and other toxins) affect disease severity and transmission in insect populations and the implications this has for sustainable pest control and as a regulating factor in populations of beneficial insects. She uses mixed pathogen studies in model invertebrate host systems to understand ecological mechanisms and predict infection in different mixed infection scenarios.