astronomy

Judith Breuer

Judith Breuer is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Judith Breuer rather than just read about it. In short: Judith Breuer is a British virologist who is professor of virology and director of the Pathogen Genomics Unit at University College London. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019.

Key takeaways

Judith Breuer belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Judith Breuer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Judith Breuer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Judith Breuer is a British virologist who is professor of virology and director of the Pathogen Genomics Unit at University College London. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019. Breuer is part of the United Kingdom genome sequencing team that looks to map the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.

Early life and education As a child, Breuer was inspired by Vera Brittain and Simone de Beauvoir. She eventually studied medicine at the Middlesex Hospital medical school. During her doctoral degree Breuer studied the genes of HIV-2 tissue culture isolates. Her medical career started in East London, where she noticed that there was a large population of adults with chickenpox. This is rare for countries like the United Kingdom, where children usually contract the disease. She undertook her specialist training in virology at St Mary's Hospital, London in the early nineties, and move to St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1993. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in 1998.

Research and career In 2005 Breuer joined University College London, where she serves as chair of Molecular Virology. She simultaneously holds a clinical position at Great Ormond Street Hospital. In 2012 she was made co-director of the Division of Infection & Immunity. Her research focusses on genome sequencing and phylogenetics. She also studies how viral evolution impacts public health practises and policy. Breuer demonstrated a methodology that enables the recovery of low copy viral DNA from clinical samples, which can then be used for whole genome sequencing. She has primarily investigated the genetic association of Varicella zoster virus, Herpes simplex virus and human parainfluenza viruses. Breuer has investigated norovirus, a pandemic that occurs on cycles of between two and five years. Using phylogenetic trees Breuer showed that the pandemic strains of norovirus exist in the population long before the virus spreads around the world. She believes that changes in the immunity of a population create an environment that allows the pandemic to spread, and that the pandemic strains may exist in children before they emerge in the wider population. Alongside norovirus, Breuer has extensively studied the Varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles. It is the smallest of all herpesviridae. For almost three decades, it was unclear how the Varicella zoster virus retained its dormancy. Breuer was the first to identify a latency-associated genetic transcript, which can persist in the neurons of almost all adults. She demonstrated that the diversity of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in clinical samples is not caused by frequent mutation, as was previously thought, but instead due to multi-strain infection. This finding demonstrates that HCMV does not mutate faster than other viruses, making it easier to identify a vaccination. In 2016 Breuer launched the Pathogens Genomics Unit at University College London, which allows the scientific community to better sequence pathogen genomes. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019. Her research includes the development of new tools and tests to protect people from antimicrobial resistance. Supported by the Department of Health and Social Care, Breuer looks to identify and treat antimicrobial resistant diseases, ensure the appropriate treatment pathways and prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant diseases between people. This aspect of her research makes use of artificial intelligence to quickly interpret test results, collating information from electronic health records and learning how clinicians make use of test results in clinical care. To achieve this, Breuer is involved with the design of new diagnostic tools, comprehensive randomized controlled trials and clinical management mechanisms. In 2020 Breuer was appointed the London lead of a national response effort to sequence the genome and map the spread of the novel coronavirus disease.

Selected publications Dworkin, Robert H.; Johnson, Robert W.; Breuer, Judith; Gnann, John W.; Levin, Myron J.; Backonja, Miroslav; Betts, Robert F.; Gershon, Anne A.; Haanpää, Maija L.; McKendrick, Michael W.; Nurmikko, Turo J. (2007-01-01). "Recommendations for the Management of Herpes Zoster". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 44 (Supplement_1): S1–S26. doi:10.1086/510206. ISSN 1058-4838. PMID 17143845. GAUTHIER, A.; BREUER, J.; CARRINGTON, D.; MARTIN, M.; RÉMY, V. (2008-05-09). "Epidemiology and cost of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in the United Kingdom". Epidemiology and Infection. 137 (1): 38–47. doi:10.1017/s0950268808000678. ISSN 0950-2688. PMID 18466661. S2CID 22839726.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Judith Breuer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Judith Breuer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Judith Breuer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Judith Breuer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Judith Breuer

In research: Judith Breuer appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Judith Breuer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Judith Breuer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academics of University College London, Alumni of the University of London, British virologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Judith Breuer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Judith Breuer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Judith Breuer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Judith Breuer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Judith Breuer in simple terms?

Why does Judith Breuer matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Judith Breuer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Judith Breuer.