Professor Helliwell graduated from the University of Cambridge and the Royal London Hospital, and trained in histopathology in Liverpool where he has been a consultant since 1984. He has special interests in head and neck pathology and musculo-skeletal pathology. He is currently Clinical Director for Cellular Pathology in Liverpool Clinical Laboratories, based at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
Professor Helliwell has broad clinical academic experience in research, with over 125 peer reviewed publications, and is associate editor for head and neck pathology for the journal Histopathology. He has been closely involved with the organisation and delivery of pathology for the undergraduate medical and dental curricula in Liverpool for over 30 years, is actively involved in postgraduate pathology training and assessment and is the lead examiner for the part 2 FRCPath examination in Liverpool.