Barbara Farnsworth Heslop CBE FRSNZ (née Cupit, 26 January 1925 – 20 December 2013) was a New Zealand immunologist specialising in transplantation immunology and immunogenetics.

Barbara Heslop
Born(1925-01-26)26 January 1925
Auckland, New Zealand
Died20 December 2013(2013-12-20) (aged 88)
Dunedin, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Otago
SpouseJohn Heslop
ChildrenHelen Heslop
Scientific career
FieldsPathology, Immunology
InstitutionsUniversity of Otago

Biography

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Born in Auckland, Heslop was educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School from 1938 to 1941[1][2] and then attended the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1949[3] and MD in 1954.[4]

She married surgeon John Herbert Heslop, noted for his work on skin carcinogenesis.[5] They had two daughters: Helen, a transplant scientist;[6] and Hilary, a food specialist.

Heslop gained recognition in the medical community for both her research and her teaching, at a time when women scientists were scarce. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) for services to surgical sciences in 1975.[7] In 1990, in honour of her research achievements she was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand[8] mainly based on her publications on allogeneic lymphocyte cytotoxicity (a natural killer cell mediated phenomenon). The same year, she and her husband John Heslop were joint recipients of the Sir Louis Barnett Medal awarded by the RACS.[7]

In the 1991 New Year Honours, Heslop was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to medical education.[9]

Heslop died in Dunedin in 2013.[10]

In 2017, Heslop was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[11]

Heslop Medal

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To commemorate Heslop's work and that of her husband, John Heslop, the Heslop Medal was established by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2004 to recognise and reward outstanding contributions to the Board of Basic Surgical Education and Training and its committees.[7]

Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ "Scholarships won". Auckland Star. 26 March 1942. p. 8. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Obituaries" (PDF). Newsletter. Epsom Girls Grammar School Old Girls Association: 11. July 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  3. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Co–Cu". shadowsoftime.co.nz/. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Ha–He". shadowsoftime.co.nz/. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Heslop, John Herbert and Heslop Barbara". thecommunityarchive.org.nz/. National Register of Archives and Manuscripts. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Alert Newsletter: Issue 153". royalsociety.org.nz/. Royal Society of New Zealand. 9 November 2000. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  7. ^ a b c "Heslop Medal" (PDF). surgeons.org/. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. February 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Current Fellows « Fellowship « The Academy « Our Organisation « Royal Society of New Zealand". Royalsociety.org.nz. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  9. ^ "No. 52383". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1990. p. 30.
  10. ^ "Cemeteries search – Dunedin City Council". www.dunedin.govt.nz/. Dunedin City Council. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Barbara Heslop". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
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