Nuala Helsby

Nuala Ann Helsby is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor of molecular medicine and pathology at the University of Auckland, specialising in transport of anticancer pharmaceuticals and drug treatments for autoimmune conditions.

Academic career
Helsby completed a PhD titled Inter-individual Variation in the Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics of the Antimalarial Biguanides at the University of Liverpool. Helsby carried out postdoctoral research at Liverpool and the University of Birmingham, before joining the faculty of the University of Auckland. She initially worked in the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, before taking up a position in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology. She was appointed full professor in 2024.

Helsby was an executive editor of the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology for seven years. Helsby is Vice-chair of the Drug Metabolism and Transporter Section of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, and is the New Zealand representative on the board of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists.

Helsby's research focuses on transport of anti-cancer drugs and treatments for autoimmune conditions, and genetic variations in drug metabolism. She is part of a team, led by Rhys Ponton, investigating the link between fast metabolism of codeine and propensity for addiction. She has also written about the importance of assessing drug metabolism individually rather than relying on ethnic background as a predictor.