Ann B. Hill
The information listed below is current as of the date the transcript was finalized.
Interview Details
Interview Sessions
Abstract of Interview
Ann B. Hill was born in Melbourne, but was raised primarily in Sydney, Australia, the second youngest of four children. Her father took advantage of opportunities for returning soldiers after the Second World War and pursued a degree in electronic engineering; her mother worked as a teacher until her children were born. Hill was a voracious reader throughout her childhood; she did not develop an interest in science until high school. She had a number of influential educators in her life, including teachers, principals, and family members. Ultimately she decided to study medicine at the University of New South Wales. She participated in a summer research program in Robert V. Blanden's laboratory at the Australian National University before interning at Sydney Hospital with a specialization in internal medicine. She continued to train in clinical immunology at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, where she also worked to set up an immunology clinic for AIDS patients. Wanting to combine clinical medicine and scientific research, Hill returned to the Australian National University for her doctoral degree, working in Arno Mullbacher's laboratory on immunodominance and the cytotoxic T-cell response to flaviviruses. After winning the Oxford Nuffield Dominions Medical Fellowship she attended Oxford University as a postdoctoral fellow in Andrew J. McMichael's laboratory, researching HLA-B51, cross-presentation, and immuno-evasion. At the end of her postdoc, Hill took another postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Hidde L. Ploegh's lab to study immuno-evasion by herpes simplex viruses. This last postdoctoral fellowship proved quite influential scientifically and Hill continued work on immune-evasion as a member of the Oregon Health Sciences University. Hill used the remainder of the interview to reflect upon her own career, as well as various contemporary issues in scientific research and practice, like her decision to enter medicine rather than the humanities; the impact of her senior high school education on her career; patents and the privatization of scientific research; and competition in science. She ends the interview with thoughts about her family and the role that the Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences has played and continues to play in her work.
Education
Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | University of New South Wales | BS | |
1979 | University of New South Wales | MB | |
1989 | Australian National University | PhD |
Professional Experience
St. Vincent's Hospital
MIT Center for Cancer Research
Oregon Health and Science University
Honors
Year(s) | Award |
---|---|
1976 | Vacation Scholarship, the John Curtin School of Medical Research,The Australian National University |
1990 to 1994 | Oxford Nuffield Dominions Medical Fellow, Molecular Immunology |
1993 | The Royal Society Travelling Fellowship to Japan |
1995 | The Arthritis Foundation Post-doctoral Fellowship |
1996 | The Blue Cross Blue Shield Award, American Heart Association, Oregon Affiliate |
1997 to 2001 | Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences Grant |
2016 | Pew Science and Society Institute: 3rd cohort |
Table of Contents
Family background. Parents. Siblings. Reading. Religion. Junior high and high school education. The Australian educational system. High school science classes. Influential teachers. Parental expectations. Studies medicine at the University of New South Wales. Summer research program in Robert V. Blanden's laboratory at Australian National University. Intern at Sydney Hospital. Internal medicine. Clinical immunology.
AIDS clinic at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. Australian National University for graduate school. Arno Mullbacher. Combining clinical medicine and scientific research. Research on immunodominance and the cytotoxic T-cell response to flaviviruses. Oxford Nuffield Dominions Medical Fellowship. Attends Oxford University as a postdoctoral fellow in Andrew J. McMichael's Laboratory. Work on HLA-B5 1, cross-presentation, and immuno-evasion. Postdoctoral fellowship in Hidde L. Ploegh's laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Work on immuno-evasion by herpes simplex viruses.
Position at Oregon Health Sciences University. Grant-writing process. Research on immuno-evasion. Practical applications of her work. Teaching duties. Writing journal articles. The impact of her senior high school education on her Career. Leisure activities. Future research plans. Privatization of scientific research. The biological revolution. Competition in science.
Collaborations. The national science agenda. Public debate about science. Tenure at Oregon Health Sciences University. Gender issues in science. Impact of the Pew Scholars Program in Biomedical Sciences. Relationship with her father. More on her childhood interests. More on her influential high school headmaster.