Dr Helassa obtained a BSc (Hons) in Plant Chemistry-Biology and a Masters degree in Microbial Ecology from the University of Lyon (France). Then, he completed a PhD in Biochemistry investigating the fate of insecticidal proteins produced by GM plants in the environment (France). he was subsequently employed as a Postdoctoral Researcher on a number of projects focusing on bacterial cell wall formation (France), development of fluorescent calcium, glutamate and glucose indicators optimised for in vivo imaging (London and Liverpool) and calcium in cell division and neurodegeneration (Liverpool). Currently, his research focuses on the role of calcium and calcium-binding proteins in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases using protein biophysics, structural biology, cellular imaging and electrophysiology. He has recently been awarded a British Heart Foundation Basic Science Research Fellowship (University of Liverpool) to investigate the role of calmodulin in cardiac arrhythmia.