MA MRes PhD
Dr Chris H. Hill
Principal Investigator and Lecturer
Wellcome & Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellow
+44 (0)1904 328688
York Structural Biology Laboratory
York Biomedical Research Institute
Department of Biology (B/L/021)
University of York
Wentworth Way
York, YO10 5DD
Biography
Chris did his PhD in the laboratories of Dr Janet Deane and Prof. Randy Read at the CIMR, studying the structure and mechanism of lysosomal hydrolase enzymes. In 2015, he joined the Lori Passmore's group at the MRC-LMB as a Career Development Fellow to work on the pre-mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation machinery. Chris then moved to the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge in 2018 to direct a programme of work for Prof. Ian Brierley on ribosomal frameshifting. In 2021, he was awarded a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society to establish his own research group at the University of York.
Chris also loves teaching. He is a former Fellow and College Lecturer in Natural Sciences at Queens’ College, Cambridge with more than ten years experience in delivering undergraduate tutorials.
When he's not doing science, Chris enjoys writing music for piano:
Career
October 2021
November 2017 - August 2021
Research Associate
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
August 2015 - October 2017
Postdoctoral Scientist
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
October 2010 - July 2015
PhD student
Wellcome Infection & Immunity programme, CIMR
Wellcome Sir Henry Dale Fellow and Lecturer appointment at University of York. Lab opens!
Second postdoc in the Brierley Laboratory, working on mechanisms of frameshifting in cardioviruses. Solved crystal structures of viral 2A proteins, revealing a new RNA-binding fold. Elucidated the RNA binding mechanism and determined cryo-EM structures of 2A bound to initiated ribosomes.
First postdoc in the Passmore Laboratory, working on structure and mechanism of the cleavage and polyadenylation factor (CPF). Created a recombinant minimal machinery (13 proteins) that faithfully reproduced specific pre-mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation in vitro. Determined structures of the nuclease sub-complex by cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography.
PhD with Dr Janet Deane and Prof. Randy Read, working on glycolipid degradation by lysosomal hydrolase enzymes. Used diffusion trapping to visualise the GALC catalytic cycle, explored the utility of azasugars as chemical chaperones and solved the crystal structure of a GALC-SapA-detergent complex, revealing likely mechanisms of lipid presentation.