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BA MA MRes PhD
Dr Chris H. Hill
Wellcome & Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellow
Lister Institute Research Fellow
Principal Investigator and Reader
+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 completed 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 postdoctoral scientist 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. In 2025, he received the Lister Institute Research Prize and was shortlisted for the Biochemical Society Colworth Medal.
Chris enjoys teaching undergraduates on several modules at the University of York, including an introduction to X-ray crystallography (CHE00021I Genes to Proteins / CHE00036I Chemical and Structural Biology) and the structure and biophysical mechanism of the ribosome (BIO00067H Molecular Machinery in Action). 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 2026
Principal Investigator
Research Fellow (Reader)
June 2026
June 2025
October 2021
Principal Investigator
Research Fellow (Lecturer)
York Structural Biology Laboratory
York Biomedical Research Institute
Department of Biology
University of York
November 2017
Research Associate
Department of Pathology (Virology)
University of Cambridge
August 2015
Postdoctoral Scientist
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
October 2010
MRes + PhD student
Wellcome Infection & Immunity DTP
Cambridge Institute for Medical Research
Promotion to University Reader
Wellcome Career Development Award
Lister Institute Research Prize
Wellcome / Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship
Hill Lab opens!
Second postdoc in the Brierley Laboratory, working on mechanisms of frameshifting in RNA viruses.
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.