Helen Brough: Consultant In Paediatric Allergy in London

Training and experience

Professor Helen Brough graduated from King’s College, Cambridge University, with double honours in Medicine and Experimental Psychology before completing her clinical training at the Royal Free and University College London Medical School.

Choosing to specialise in paediatrics, Helen undertook her specialist training on the South London Paediatric training rotation before taking up a UK Higher Specialist Training post in Paediatric Allergy and Immunology. This prestigious post allowed her to train at three leading London teaching hospitals: Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, King’s College Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital. During this training, Helen also completed an MSc in Allergy from the University of Southampton and was awarded a PhD from King’s College London University for her work in determining routes of developing peanut allergy.

Professor Brough is a Consultant in Paediatric Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the founder of Children’s Allergy Doctors. She has been the Head of Service of the NHS Children’s Allergy Service at Evelina London, St. Thomas’ Hospital since 2015. She has a wealth of experience in food allergy prevention, diagnosis and treatment, food and inhalant immunotherapy, eczema, asthma, and eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders.

An Honorary Professor in Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London University, Helen teaches on the Paediatric MSc course, the Immunology MSc course and the Allergy Academy and the Centre of Excellence international fellowship course.

Helen is on the Health Advisory Board for Allergy UK and chairs the national atopic eczema guideline group for the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Standards of Care Committee. She is the President of the Allergy and Immunology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine (2022-2024).

Awards

Helen Webb Prize for Paediatrics and Child Health (2002)

Esther Frances White Memorial Prize (2002)

Distinction in Pharmacology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2002)

Royal Free and Blackwell Science Prize for Academic Excellence (2000)

Coeliac UK ‘Health Professional of the Year’ runner-up (2010)

BSACI Barry Kay Ward for research in Paediatric Allergy (2013)

Distinguished Clinician Award from the American Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2020)

Clinical interests

Helen has a clinical and research interest in:

• Food allergy prevention
• Diagnosis and treatment of allergy
• Immunotherapy
• Asthma
• Eczema
• Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders

In her clinical practice, Helen aims to provide holistic care for children with allergic disorders utilising the latest research developments to treat not only existing symptoms, but also with a view to preventing further symptoms. She is currently the lead on the multicentre European Pronuts study looking into how the development of a new nut allergy can be prevented in children with at least one existing nut allergy and was the co-author of the LEAP study, a ground-breaking study which showed that in young children with eczema or egg allergy, the early introduction of peanut into the diet prevented the development of peanut allergy. She is an investigator for the oral and patch desensitisation trails at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

In the media

Peanut Allergy and the Skin: Q&A with Dr. Helen Brough - Allergic Living

Research interests

Helen is actively involved in research to prevent food allergy and to develop new treatments for allergic disorders. A regular presenter at national and international meetings, she has published original research in the areas of peanut and food allergy, as well as reviews on active management and prevention of food allergies, dietary management of peanut allergy, the risks of exposure to food in the environment in allergic patients and the use of antihistamines in children. She is the author of the textbook Rapid Paediatrics and Child Health (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and has contributed chapters to books on Paediatric Allergy.

Allergy tests and treatments

Professor Helen Brough provides expert diagnosis and management of allergic disorders affecting children including food allergies, eczema, asthma, hayfever, insect stings, latex allergy and antibiotic allergy.

A consultation with Professor Brough may include a number of tests to determine the nature of the problem, including:

• Skin prick testing
• Spirometry
• Exhaled nitric oxide
• Chest X-ray
• Sinus MRI scan
• Allergy blood testing
• Food allergy
• Atopic eczema
• Allergic asthma
• Allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
• Allergic conjunctivitis
• Immunotherapy to house dust mite, pollens and animal dander
• Delayed gastrointestinal food allergies
• Insect sting
• Latex allergy
• Antibiotic allergy

Fees

New consultation: £280

Follow-up consultation: £230