• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Chaminade University of Honolulu

Chaminade University of Honolulu

  • VISIT
  • APPLY
  • GIVE
  • STUDENTS
  • PARENTS
  • ALUMNI
  • FACULTY/STAFF
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Home
    • Freshman Students
    • Transfer Students
    • Master’s & Doctoral Admissions
    • Flex Online Undergraduate Program
    • Military Students
    • Non-Degree/Visiting Students
    • Experiential Honors Program
    • Early College Program
    • New Student Orientation
  • Tuition & Aid
    • Financial Aid Home
    • Tuition & Expenses
    • NEW FAFSA Changes
    • Scholarships
    • $5,000 Graduate Scholarship
    • Net Price Calculator
  • Academics
    • Academics Home
    • Office of Student Success
    • Academic Advising
    • Academic Programs
    • Career Development
    • Military Benefits
    • Registrar
    • Kokua Ike: Center for Student Learning
    • Undergrad Research & Pre-Professional Programs
    • Sullivan Family Library
  • Student Life
    • About Student Life
    • Silversword Athletics
    • Student Engagement
    • Student Government Association
    • Residence Life and Housing
    • Health Services
    • Marianist Leadership Center
    • Counseling Center
    • Campus Ministry
    • Campus Security
    • Dining Services
    • Bookstore
  • About
    • Chaminade University News
    • Our Story
    • Leadership
    • Strategic Plan 2024-2030
    • Mission & Rector
    • Association of Marianist Universities
    • Facts & Rankings
    • CIFAL Honolulu
    • Commencement
    • Accreditation & Memberships
    • Montessori Laboratory School
Search
×

Search this web site

Home > School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics > Faculty > Helen Turner, Ph.D.

Helen Turner, Ph.D.

Dr. Helen Turner

Research Director, CIFAL Honolulu
Professor, Biology
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (808) 739-8399


Courses

Directed Senior Research

Biography

Dr. Turner is an internationally-regarded researcher in molecular immunology. As well as her position at Chaminade, she holds academic affiliations with the John A. Burns School of Medicine and Department of Microbiology at the University of Hawaii and serves on numerous scientific advisory boards. She collaborates with an extensive network of scientists nation-wide and has trained numerous graduate students for careers as biomedical investigators, science administrators and academics. Previous to her Chaminade appointment, she was an Associate Director of Research at The Queen’s Center for Biomedical Research in Honolulu.

Current projects in the Turner laboratory focus on mast cell ion channels as novel targets for therapeutic intervention in inflammatory pathologies, and on the molecular mechanisms by which cannabinoid compounds act as modulators of the immune system. Dr Turner’s relatively young laboratory has been strikingly successful at winning grants from private foundations (The Leahi Fund for Pulmonary Research, The Victoria and Bradley Geist Foundation, The Culpeper Biomedical Pilot Initiative, and the Queen Emma Research Foundation), and from Federal sources (National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Allergic and Inflammatory Disease, and the Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence). In addition to her efforts in seeking funding for her own program, Dr. Turner acts as an invited grant reviewer for the NIH, the British Welcome Trust, and several other funding bodies.

Training: Dr. Turner trained at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories and received her Ph.D. from the University of London in 1998. Following a post-doctoral period at the Beth Israel Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, she assumed her position at Queens in 2000.

Research: While at Queens, Dr. Turner was head of a team of 10 scientists, whose efforts centered around the biology of mast cells. These immunocytes are central to inflammatory responses and are key players in pathologies such as asthma, eczema and multiple sclerosis.

Joint Appointment: Non-compensated Professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii

Academic Degrees

Post-doctoral Fellow (1998-2000) – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School
Ph.D., Immunology – University of London, U.K.
B.Sc. (Hons), Biochemistry – University of York, U.K.

Selected Publications

Turner, H., Reif, K., Rivera, J. and Cantrell, D.A. (1995) Regulation of the adapter molecule Grb2 by the FcεRI in the mast cell line RBL2H3. J Biol Chem 270, 9500-9506.

Osman, N., Lucas S., Turner, H., and Cantrell, D.A. (1995) A comparison of the interaction of Shc and the tyrosine kinase ZAP-70 with the T cell antigen receptor ξ chain tyrosine based activation motif. J.Biol Chem 270, 13981-13986.

Osman, N., Turner, H., Lucas, S., Reif, K. and Cantrell, D.A. (1996) The protein interactions of the Immunoglobulin receptor family Tyrosine-based Activation Motifs present in the T cell receptor ζ subunits and the CD3 γ, δ and ε chains. Eur J Immunol 26, 1063-1068.

Turner, H. and Cantrell, D.A. (1997) Distinct Ras effector pathways are involved in FcεRI regulation of the transcriptional activity of Elk-1 and NFAT in mast cells. J Exp Med 185, 43-53.

Turner, H., Gomez, M., McKenzie, E., Kirchem, A., Lennard, A. and Cantrell, D.A. (1997) Rac-1 regulates nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) C1 nuclear translocation in response to FcεRI stimulation of mast cells. J Exp Med 188, 527-537.

Turner, H and Kinet JP. (1999) Signaling through FceRI. Nature 402:B24-B30. review.

Adra, C. N., Donato, J. L., Badovinac, R., Syed, F., Kheraj, R., Cai H., Moran, C., Kolker, M. T., Turner, H., Weremowicz, S., Shirakawa, T., Morton C. C., Schnipper L. E. and Drews, R. (2000) SMARCAD1, a novel human helicase family-defining member associated with genetic instability: cloning, expression, and mapping to 4q22-q23, a band rich in breakpoints and deletion mutants involved in several human diseases. Genomics 69, 162-173

Nadler, M.N., Matthews, S. A., Turner, H. and Kinet J. P. (2001). Signal transduction by the high affinity IgE receptor. Adv Immunol 76, 325-355. Review.

Guerrero, AP., Hishinuma, ES., Lee, TG, Bell, CK., Yuen, N., Kurahara, D., Turner, H., Stokes, A. and Andrade NN. (2003). Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Hawai’i. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Psychiatry. 157: 665-70.

Turner, H., Fleig, A., Stokes, A., Kinet, JP., and Penner, R. (2003) Intracellular calcium release activity of VR-1 gates a specific intracellular calcium store. Biochemical Journal. 371:341-50 Samson, M-T., Small-Howard, A.L., Shimoda, L.M.N., Stokes, A., and Turner, H. (2003) Differential signaling by the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors in mast cells. J Immunol. 170(10):4953-62.

Service to the Profession

  • 2003- Chair, Rhodes Scholar Selection Committee for the State of Hawaii.
  • 2006- Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, The Tilker Medical Research Foundation.
  • 10/2004 Ad hoc reviewer, NIH Study Section, Cellular and Molecular Immunology-A, Washington D.C.
  • 2/2005 Ad hoc reviewer, NIH Study Section, Cellular and Molecular Immunology-A, Washington D.C.
  • 6/2005 Ad hoc reviewer, NIH Study Section, MOSSD12, Bethesda, MD. 6/2006 Ad hoc reviewer, NIH Study Section, Cellular and Molecular Immunology-A, Washington D.C.
  • 7/2006 Ad hoc reviewer, NIH Study Section, ZRG IMM-A1, Washington D.C.
  • 2005 Guest Editor, Special edition on TRP Channels, Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology.
  • 2005 Grant Reviewer, National Medical Research Council of Singapore.
  • 2005, 2006 Grant Reviewer, The Wellcome Trust for Biomedical Sciences.
  • 2006- Grant Reviewer, Dutch Cancer Society.

Primary Sidebar

School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

  • School Home
    Faculty
    Advising
    Undergraduate Research & Inquiry
    Facilities and Equipment
    Funded Programs
    External Resources
    Course Catalog

  • Questions? Contact Us.
    Wesselkamper, Room 116
    (808) 440-4204

    Recent Posts

    • Professor Honored for Outstanding ContributionsApril 17, 2025
    • Students Flex Their Event Planning SkillsApril 16, 2025
    • Employee Milestones CelebratedApril 15, 2025
    • Community Gathers for ‘International Extravaganza’April 14, 2025
    • Photo Gallery: Taste of CultureApril 11, 2025
    • Alumna Spotlights Importance of Public HealthApril 10, 2025
    • Business Students Take First in Global CompetitionApril 9, 2025
    BC28-BestValue-2025
    Apply Now
    Request Info
    Contact Us

    Footer

    Chaminade University Logo

    3140 Waialae Avenue
    Honolulu, Hawaii 96816

    Contact Us
    Phone: (808) 735-4711
    Toll-free: (800) 735-3733

    facebook twitter instagram youtube linkedin

    Visit

    • Plan a Visit
    • Campus Map (PDF)
    • Events

    Resources

    • Campus Security
    • Student Consumer Information
    • Institutional Review Board
    • Title IX / Nondiscrimination Policy
    • Emergency Information
    • Careers
    • Campus Incident Report
    • Institutional Statement

    People

    • Students
    • Parents
    • Alumni
    • Faculty & Staff

    Policy

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions of Use


    © Chaminade University of Honolulu