Helen Segal

My area of expertise is in the field of thrombosis and haemostasis in stroke. The focus of  my research in the Stroke Prevention Unit is the assessment of potential blood biomarkers as risk factors for recurrent stroke. The aim is to improve prognostic tools both in  the short and long term  following stroke in a population based study.  It is important to identify risk that may be modifiable could aid secondary prevention in patients with stroke. Exploring the relationships between coagulation and inflammation in new alongside established risk factors will help further understanding of the pathology of stroke.

My work is laboratory based analysis of a variety of coagulation and inflammatory proteins. I am particularly interested in antiphospholipid antibodies in stroke, which in addition to being a risk factor for thrombosis  and may be linked to cognitive decline. I also have also performed studies of the measures of the antiplatelet effects of therapeutic doses of aspirin and the relationship of aspirin resistance to outcome events. Another aspect of my work is supporting ongoing collaborative national and international studies of the genetics of stroke and other vascular disease.