astronomy

Merilyn Hibma

Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma rather than just read about it. In short: Merilyn Hibma is a New Zealand viral immunologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in immune regulation by viruses, especially human papillomavirus, the causative agent of cervical cancer. Academic career Hibma completed Master of Science in microbiology at Otago, followed by a PhD titled Humoral immunity in farmed deer also at Otago in 1989.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Merilyn Hibma is a New Zealand viral immunologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in immune regulation by viruses, especially human papillomavirus, the causative agent of cervical cancer.

Academic career Hibma completed Master of Science in microbiology at Otago, followed by a PhD titled Humoral immunity in farmed deer also at Otago in 1989. Hibma completed her postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, working with Lionel Crawford at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund laboratory. Hibma was awarded a Health Research Council Repatriation Fellowship, which allowed her to return to take up a faculty position in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago. Hibma transferred to the Department of Pathology in 2014, the same year she was appointed research associate professor. She was promoted to full professor in 2021. Hibma is an associate researcher in the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery. Hibma's research focuses on immune regulation by viruses, and she has a particular interest in human papillomavirus, the causative agent of cervical cancer. Hibma's team identified a viral protein, named E7, that appeared to be responsible for suppressing the immune response to the virus. The presence of this protein in patients was correlated with the later development of cervical cancer. Hibma works on understanding the biology of human papillomavirus, as well as the development of new immunotherapeutics. Hibma has led efforts to get effective screening and treatment programmes for cervical cancer in the Pacific.

Selected works

Kate Middleton; Woei Peh; Shirley Southern; et al. (1 October 2003). "Organization of human papillomavirus productive cycle during neoplastic progression provides a basis for selection of diagnostic markers". Journal of Virology. 77 (19): 10186–10201. doi:10.1128/jvi.77.19.10186-10201.2003. ISSN 0022-538X. PMC 228472. PMID 12970404. Wikidata Q36524778. Kate Matthews; Cheng Mee Leong; Lindsay Baxter; Emma Inglis; Kankatsu Yun; B Thomas Bäckström; John Doorbar; Merilyn Hibma (1 August 2003). "Depletion of Langerhans cells in human papillomavirus type 16-infected skin is associated with E6-mediated down regulation of E-cadherin". Journal of Virology. 77 (15): 8378–8385. doi:10.1128/jvi.77.15.8378-8385.2003. ISSN 0022-538X. PMC 165258. PMID 12857907. Wikidata Q35155315. Sara J. Edwards; Brett R Dix; Colleen J Myers; Deirdre Dobson-Le; Lily Huschtscha; Merilyn Hibma; Janice Royds; Antony W Braithwaite (1 December 2002). "Evidence that replication of the antitumor adenovirus ONYX-015 is not controlled by the p53 and p14(ARF) tumor suppressor genes". Journal of Virology. 76 (24): 12483–12490. doi:10.1128/jvi.76.24.12483-12490.2002. ISSN 0022-538X. PMC 136704. PMID 12438574. Wikidata Q39685569. J Dillner; F Wiklund; P Lenner; et al. (1 January 1995). "Antibodies against linear and conformational epitopes of human papillomavirus type 16 that independently associate with incident cervical cancer". International Journal of Cancer. 60 (3): 377–382. doi:10.1002/ijc.2910600318. ISSN 0020-7136. PMID 7530234. Wikidata Q71669731. Royds JA; Hibma M; Dix BR; Hananeia L; Russell IA; Wiles A; Wynford-Thomas D; Braithwaite AW (1 March 2006). "p53 promotes adenoviral replication and increases late viral gene expression". Oncogene. 25 (10): 1509–1520. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1209185. ISSN 0950-9232. PMID 16247442. Wikidata Q40358341. Stephanie Dillon; Toshiyuki Sasagawa; Anna Crawford; Jan Prestidge; Marie K Inder; Jim Jerram; Andy Mercer; Merilyn Hibma (1 March 2007). "Resolution of cervical dysplasia is associated with T-cell proliferative responses to human papillomavirus type 16 E2". Journal of General Virology. 88 (Pt 3): 803–813. doi:10.1099/vir.0.82678-0. ISSN 0022-1317. PMID 17325352. Wikidata Q45128963.

References

External links Merilyn Hibma's inaugural professorial lecture, 28 September 2022, via YouTube

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Merilyn Hibma

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma

In research: Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma 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: Merilyn Hibma is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic staff of the University of Otago, Cancer researchers, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Merilyn Hibma in simple terms?

Why does Merilyn Hibma 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 Merilyn Hibma?

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 Merilyn Hibma.