Helena Safavi studied biology at the University of Cologne (Germany) and the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences in Townsville (Australia). She obtained her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Melbourne (Australia) where she was trained in the transcriptomics and proteomics identification of bioactive peptides from animal venoms under the supervision of Prof. Anthony Purcell. She then received a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship to conduct a joined research project on the large-scale identification and biomedical characterization of peptide toxins and biosynthetic enzymes with Lars Ellgaard at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and Toto Olivera at the University of Utah (USA). Having had broad training in the discovery and characterization of bioactive peptides from animal venoms, her independent research focuses on the identification and development of novel drug leads for the treatment of pain and diabetes.