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The Hill laboratory focuses on neurodegenerative diseases caused by protein misfolding and aggregation, in particular Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Alzheimer's disease.
We are interested in dissecting the pathways involved in the conversion of the normal cellular form of the prion protein (PrPC) to the abnormal, disease associated isoform (PrPSc). Current work involves looking at cell to cell infection via exosomes, mutational analysis of specific motifs thought to play a role in protein misfolding, protein trafficking and identification of the toxic species. Our research group has also developed novel cell based systems for studying the generation and trafficking of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the generation of the Aβ peptide in cell culture.
Techniques include: Work involves the use of cell culture, expression and purification of recombinant proteins, 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, difference in-gel electrophoresis, site directed mutagenesis, confocal microscopy, circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, preparative ultracentrifugation, and RNA interference.
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Andrew Hill Bio
Andrew Hill studied neurodegenerative diseases whilst working on his PhD in the UK which was followed by a short postdoctoral position. He came to Australia in 2000 as a Wellcome Prize Travelling Research Fellow expanding his research profile in the field. In 2003, Andrew joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Melbourne and now holds a Senior Lecturer position. With more than 50 publications in many of the top scientific journals, Andrew has been the recipient of a number of prestigious researcher awards including the 2005 Applied Biosystems / Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Edman Award; 2006 Young Investigator Award, Asian and Pacific Society for Neuroscience; 2006 Victorian Young Tall Poppy Science Award and 2007 Young Investigator Award, International Society for Neurochemistry.
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Hill Research Group
Research Staff
- Robyn Sharples
- Brooke Lumicisi
- Shayne Bellingham
- Karl Grenier
Postgraduate Students
- Sen Han
- Laura Vella
- Rebecca Nisbet
- Chris Harrison
- Emma Toulmin
- Ryan Naylor
- Vanessa Wall
- Victoria Lewis
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