About Dr Helen Ritchie
Helen's work hopes to identify possible drugs that can cause birth defects in humans. My scholarly activity is driven by the desire to improve understanding of drug induced birth defects.
Dr Helen Ritchie is a developmental toxicologist with a special interest in the effects of vitamin A, herbal medicine and cardiovascular medicines on the developing embryo and fetus.
Helen is a senior lecturer in the Discipline of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney. She graduated in science from the University of Queensland in 1980, received her M.Sc in 1988 and her PhD in 1996. Her research has two major themes - maternofetal (teratology) and male-mediated. I am one of only 3 or 4 experimental teratologists in Australia. Since 1990, I have published more than 15 papers in refereed journals. I have been invited to speak at national conferences on the use of vitamin A and herbal medicine during pregnancy. In addition, I am frequently invited to lecture at continuing education workshops and conferences throughout Australia. Her expertise in the area of developmental toxicology is recognized by her appointment to the editorial board of Reproductive Toxicology.
Selected publications
- M. Yao, H Ritchie, P Brown-Woodman. A reproductive screening test of feverfew: is a full reproductive study warranted? Reproductive Toxicology. 22(4):688-93, 2006. PubMedId: 16781113
- Brown-Woodman, PDC; Ritchie, HE; Korabelnikoff, A; et al. (2004) Replacement of ether with alternate volatile anesthetics for collection of rat serum used in embryo culture. Toxicology In Vitro, 18 (5): 719-724. PubMedId: 15251191
- Ritchie, HE; Brown-Woodman, PD; Korabelnikoff, A. (2003). Effect of Co-administration of retinoids on rat embryo development in vitro. Birth Defects Research Part A-Clinical And Molecular Teratology, 67 (6): 444-451. PubMedId: 12962289
- Oakes, D.J., Webster, W.S., Brown-Woodman, P.D.C., Ritchie, H.E. (2002). A study of the potential for a herbicide formulation containing 2,4-d and picloram to cause male-mediated developmental toxicity in rats. Toxicological Sciences 68:200-206. PubMedId: 12075122
- Ritchie HE (2001) The safety of herbal medicine use during pregnancy. Frontiers in fetal health. 3 (10): 259-266.
- Ritchie HE and Bolton P (2000). Drug use in Pregnancy. The Australian categorisation of risk of drug use in pregnancy. Aust Fam Phys 29(3): 237-241.
- Ritchie HE, Webster WS, Eckhoff CE, Oakes, DJ (1998). Model predicting the teratogenic potential of retinyl palmitate using a combined in vivo/in vitro approach. Teratology 58: 113-123. PubMedId: 9802191
- Webster WS and Ritchie HE (1998). The effects of retinoids on ear development a review. Retinoids & Lipid-soluable vitamins in clinical practice 14(3): 88-91.
- Webster WS, Brown-Woodman PDC, Ritchie HE (1997). A review of the contribution of whole embryo culture to the determination of hazard and risk in teratogenicity testing. International Journal of Developmental Biology 41: 329-335 (1997). PubMedId: 9184342
- Webster WS. Brown-Woodman PD. Lipson AH. Ritchie HE. (1991) Fetal brain damage in the rat following prenatal exposure to cocaine. Neurotoxicology & Teratology. 13(6):621-6. PubMedId: 1779949