Professor Hazel Mitchell
- Position: Professor
- Room: 301A, Biological Sciences
- Phone: (+61 2) 9385 2040
- Fax: (+61 2) 9385 1483
- email: h.mitchell@unsw.edu.au
Professional Experience
- 1999-2002 Senior Lecturer, UNSW, 2002-2006:Associate Professor, UNSW
- 1996-1998 Adjunct Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Associate, UNSW
- 1993-1996 NHMRC Research Associate, UNSW
Research Contribution
Professor Mitchell was one of the first in the world to study the epidemiology of H. pylori infection and developed one of the first ELISA assays for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Using this she demonstrated that transmission was person to person and showed that infection was mostly contracted in childhood. In 1996 she was a founding organiser of the Western Pacific Helicobacter pylori study group and was convenor of the first meeting in Guangzhou, China and international scientific adviser for subsequent meetings in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Thailand.
Over the last 17 years she has undertaken major studies in China in the area of epidemiology, pathogenesis and gastric cancer. In 1998 she was invited by Professor I Segal to collaborate on an investigation of H. pylori infection in South Africa. This collaboration led to the award of the South African Gastroenterology Society Astra Fellowship to further develop this research collaboration on the role H. pylori virulence determinants, the immune response and host genetic factors in the causation of H. pylori related disease. In 2003, she initiated a major study, in collaboration with Professor David Forman and the Victorian Cancer Council, to investigate the role of I and host genetic polymorphisms in gastric cancer in Australian subjects, the results of which have recently been submitted for publication. In 2004 she was awarded a 3-year grant by the NSW Cancer Council to conduct a study with collaborators in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the UK into the role of bacterial, host genetic and dietary factors in gastric cancer. In addition to these collaborations, Professor Mitchell has an ongoing collaboration on I with Professor Lars Engstrand, Karolinska Institute, Sweden where she undertook a 6-month sabbatical in 2006.
In addition to studies in humans, she has been involved in an increasing number of studies in animal models of disease in the areas of H. pylori pathogenesis, and investigation of the action of probiotics and IBD. In 2001 she was awarded an Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation grant to conduct preliminary studies into the role of therapeutic vaccination with Helicobacter species in a mouse model of IBD and in 2006 a second Broad Foundation grant to investigate the role of mucus associated bacteria in Crohn's disease in children. The findings of this latter grant led to the award of a 3-year NHMRC grant (2008-2010) to continue this work.
Honours & Awards
- 2000 South African Society for Gastroenterology Astra Fellowship
- Committee member of NSW Branch of the Australian Society for Microbiology
- ASM representative on the Joint ASM/AIMS/AACB conference committee.
- Member of the RCPA Serology QAP Scientific Advisory Network
- Member of the Cancer Council of NSW Colorectal STREP Stage 2 Steering Commit
- Member of the NHMRC Microbiology Grant Review Panel
- Initiator, scientific program developer, and organiser of "The First Western Pacific Helicobacter Congress", China and scientific advisor to following 5 congresses
- Conference organiser: 13th International Workshop on Campylobacter, Helicobacter and Related Organisms, Australia and International Workshop on Gastric Cancer, China
- Member European study group on Pathogenesis and Immunology in Helicobacter infections
- Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal Helicobacter
- Member of the European Paediatric Helicobacter Task Force
- Grant Reviewer - National: NHMRC; International: New Zealand Medical Research Council, The Singapore Medical Research Council, Broad Foundation of America
Active Research Projects
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Children
- Investigation of the Effect of Specific H. pylori Virulence Factors In-Vitro
- Investigation of the Importance of Multiple Strains in H. pylori Infection
Publications
- Zhang, L, Man, SM, Day, AS, Leach, ST, Lemberg, DA, Dutt, S, Stormon, M, Otley, A, O'Loughlin, T, Magoffin, A, Ng, PHY, Mitchell, H. (2009)
- Detection and isolation of non-jejuni Campylobacter species from children with Crohn's disease
- J Clin Microbiol; 121(1): 54-60
- Zhang L, Su P, Henriksson A, O’Rourke J, Mitchell H. (2008)
- Investigation of the immunomodulatory effects of Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis on Helicobacter pylori infection
- Helicobacter, 13 (3): 183-190
- Man S, Zhang L, Day A, Leach S, Mitchell H. (2008)
- Detection of enterohepatic and gastric Helicobacter species in fecal specimens of children with Crohn’s disease
- Helicobacter, 13(4):234-8
- Leach, TS., Mitchell, MH., Eng, RW., Zhang, L., Day, SA. (2008)
- Sustained modulation of intestinal bacteria by exclusive enteral nutrition used to treat children with Crohn's disease
- Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics; 28:724-733
- Fock, K.M., Talley, N., Moayyedi, P., Hunt, R., Azuma, T., Sugano, K., Xiao, S.D., Lam, S.K., Goh, K.L., Chiba, T., Uemura, N., Kim, J.G., Kim, N., Ang, T.L., Mahachai, V., Mitchell, H., Rani, A.A., Liou, J.M., Vilaichone, R.K. and Sollano, J. (2008)
- Asia-Pacific consensus guidelines on gastric cancer prevention.
- Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 23: 351-365.
- Leach ,S.T., Mitchell, H.M., Geczy, C.L., Sherman, P.M. and Day, A.S. (2008)
- S100 calgranulin proteins S100A8, S100A9 and S100A12 are expressed in the inflamed gastric mucosa of Helicobacter pylori-infected children.
- Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology. 22: 461-464.
- Leach ST, Mitchell HM, Eng WR, Zhang L and Day AS. (2008)
- Sustained modulation of intestinal bacteria by exclusive enteral nutrition used to treat children with Crohn's disease.
- Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 28: 724-733.
- Mitchell, H., English, D.R., Elliott, F., Gengos, M., Barrett, J.H., Giles, G.G. and Forman, D. (2008)
- Immunoblotting using multiple antigens is essential to demonstrate the true risk of Helicobacter pylori infection for gastric cancer.
- Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 28: 903-910
- Su, P., Henriksson, A., Nilsson, C. and Mitchell, H. (2008)
- Synergistic effect of green tea extract and probiotics on the pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes .
- World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 24: 1837-1842.
- Voravuthikunchai, S.P. and Mitchell, H. (2008)
- Inhibitory and killing activities of medicinal plants against multiple antibiotic-resistant Helicobacter pylori .
- Journal of Health Science. 54: 81-88.
- Dong Q, Zhang L, Goh K, Forman D, O'Rourke J, Harris A, Mitchell H. (2007)
- Identification and characterisation of ssrA in members of the Helicobacter genus
- Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek; 92(3):301-7
- Zhang L, Day A, McKenzie G, Mitchell H. (2006)
- Non-gastric Helicobacter species detected in the intestinal tract of children
- J Clin Microbiol; 44:2276-2279.
- Zhang L, Day A, Dong Q, Mitchell H. (2006)
- Avoiding errors in the identification and 16S rRNA sequencing data of members of the Helicobacteriaceae family detected in clinical samples.
- Helicobacter; 11(2): 131-133
- Zhang L and Mitchell H. (2006)
- The roles of mucus associated bacteria in IBD
- Drugs of Today; 42(9): 605-616
- Chan V, Crocetti G, Grehan M, Zhang L, Danon S, Lee A, Mitchell HM. (2005)
- Visualisation of Helicobacter species within the murine caecal mucosa using specific Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation.
- Helicobacter;10:114-124
- Zhang L, Danon S, Grehan M, Chan V, Lee A, Mitchell H. (2005)
- Natural colonisation with Helicobacter species and the development of inflammatory bowel disease in interleukin-10-deficient mice
- Helicobacter; 10(3): 223-230
- Zhang L, Danon S, Grehan M, Lee A, Mitchell H (2005)
- The template DNA ratio can affect the detection by genus specific PCR- denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of bacteria present in low abundance in mixed populations
- Helicobacter;10:80-82
- Grehan M, Danon S, Lee A, Daskalopoulos G, Mitchell H. (2004)
- Absence of mucosa-associated colonic helicobacters in an Australian urban population
- J Clin Microbiol 42:874-879.
- Thompson LJ, Danon SJ, Wilson JE, O'Rourke JL, Salama NR, Falkow S, Mitchell H, Lee A. (2004)
- Chronic Helicobacter pylori infection with Sydney Strain 1 and a newly identified mouse-adapted strain (Sydney Strain 2000) in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice
- Infect Immun;72:4668-4679
- Day AS, Mitchell HM, Bohane TD. (2004)
- Management guidelines for Helicobacter pylori infection: Utilization by paediatric gastroenterologists in Australasia.
- J Paed Child Health;40:195-200
- Merrell DS, Thompson LJ, Kim CC, Mitchell H, Tompkins LS, Lee A, and Falkow S. (2003)
- Growth phase dependent response to iron starvation in Helicobacter pylori.
- Infect Immun;71:6510-6525.
- Thompson LJ, Merrell DS, Neilan BA, Mitchell H, Lee A, Falkow S. (2003)
- Gene expression profiling of Helicobacter pylori reveals a growth phase dependent switch in virulence gene expression.
- I Infect Immun 71:2643-265
- Xia HH, Talley NJ, Blum AC, O'Morain CA, Stolte M, Bolling-Sternvald E, Mitchell HM. (2003)
- Clinical and pathological implications of IgG antibody responses to Helicobacter pylori and its virulence factors in non-ulcer dyspepsia
- Aliment Pharmacol Therapeut 17:1-9