Meet our research fellow Dr. Helena Smith, MRCS, MBBS!
Helena is a Vascular Surgery Resident from Birmingham, UK. She is a graduate of University College London and a member of the Royal College Surgeons of England (MRCS). Currently, Helena practices in the West Midlands of Birmingham.
Helena joined the Interventional and Vascular Cardiology team as a research fellow in February 2026. She is returning to the UK this month, but she will continue to collaborate with our research group from across the pond.
Below, read about why Helena chose to conduct research at the Smith Center and what she will take away from her time in Boston:
- What sparked your interest in medicine? Why vascular surgery? I wanted to embark on a professional career in medicine since enjoying the human sciences in school. My Grandfather passed away from ruptured aortic aneurysm when I was 11, which I think may have subconsciously driven me towards vascular surgery. I subsequently did a vascular surgery rotation as an intern and enjoyed the problem-solving aspect of determining surgical treatment in this cohort of frail patients. The degree of innovation in tools and technologies for vascular surgery is also very exciting.
- Why did you choose to come work with Eric? Is there a particular aspect of his research that drew you to him? Dr. Secemsky has an international reputation in his field and is really pushing the field forward in terms of using real-world data for large-scale comparative effectiveness analyses. He is a proponent of using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) for improved outcomes in vascular intervention, with several studies to back this up, and I think this will be a big change in how we practice in coming years. I have learnt a huge amount from working with him this year.
- What are a few ongoing or completed projects that you would like to highlight? Our comparative study evaluating use and outcomes of drug-coated and non-drug coated balloons for dysfunctional dialysis access circuits in Medicare patients is a highlight and I was happy to present this at the Vascular Access Society of the Americas in Saltlake City in May. A project I am excited about is midterm outcomes of IVUS use for deep venous intervention, which I will be presenting at VEITH symposium this November.
- Reflecting on the time you’ve spent so far at the Smith Center, what have been one or two of your biggest takeaways from conducting work with this team? I really admire the culture that Dr Secemsky has created in his group. There is a high level of expertise, new ideas are met with enthusiasm, and there is a real sense of collaboration and forward momentum on projects. I will take away a renewed sense of being part of a team, and lots of new research ideas!
- What skills do you hope to bring back to your home institution? I have spent some of my year researching dialysis access intervention in collaboration with Dr. Secemsky and Dr. Mohamad Hussain, Vascular Surgeon and Dialysis Access Specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. There are many new innovations and technologies aimed at improving the durability of arteriovenous fistulas and grafts for patients with end-stage kidney disease, and I hope to facilitate use of this in my home institution.
- Bonus: Fave piece of vascular surgery vocabulary? Best vascular surgery pun? I have a joke….why did the thrombus get arrested? (…because he was blocking traffic).