Dr Helen Stölting completed her undergraduate studies in Molecular Biomedicine at the University of Bonn, Germany, which included a research project on the evolution of IL-1 across invertebrate and vertebrate species. Following various internships across industry and academia, Dr Stölting relocated to Imperial College London, UK, for her MSc Immunology. Her master's research project in the group of Prof Clare Lloyd at the National Heart and Lung Institute focussed on the role of IL-10-driven macrophage/T-cell interactions in shaping pulmonary immune responses during severe asthma. Dr Stölting completed her PhD at Imperial College London in 2018-2023, continuing on in the group of Prof Lloyd. Her PhD studies focussed on the role of EGFR signalling in the pulmonary immune response to allergens and viruses, with a special focus on early life. During this time, Dr Stölting also used primary airway epithelial cells from paediatric and adult subjects cultured at air-liquid interface to study infection with respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, Influenza A and RSV. 

In late 2023, Dr Stölting was recruited to Monash University as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Nutrient Metabolism and Signalling laboratory (headed by A/Prof Adam Rose) within the Metabolism, Diabetes and Obesity Programme of the Biomedicine Discovery Institute. Here, she applies her background in immunology and newly acquired skills in metabolism and fungal biology to study the interplay between metabolism, metabolic diseases and invasive fungal infections in close collaboration with Prof Ana Traven and her team.  

Dr Stölting's research interests lie at the intersection of metabolism and invasive fungal infections. In particular, she uses complex mouse models of metabolic diseases and invasive infection with Candida albicans to study the following: 

1. How do underlying metabolic diseases, such as obesity or diabetes, affect the outcome of invasive fungal infections? 
2. What is the role of infection-induced metabolic adaptations, such as anorexia, in shaping disease outcome?