Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease have an increasing prevalence amongst our ageing population.

Recent estimates suggest the numbers of Australians suffering from dementia is set to double to 500,000 individuals by the year 2030. Many of these diseases are associated with the misfolding of certain proteins into aberrant forms that are found in the brain tissues of individuals with these diseases.

The Hill lab uses a combination of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology to investigate these diseases. We are interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms by which these proteins exert their neurodegenerative properties and in the case of prion proteins, gain their infectious properties.

Our lab is also interested in extracellular vesicles such as exosomes and microvesicles as vehicles for the transfer of misfolded proteins between cells. We also investigate the RNA content of these vesicles using next generation sequencing and have used this to develop potential diagnostics for prion and Alzheimer’s diseases.

The lab is based at the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

In 2021, the lab achieved Green Level certification (top level!) by MyGreenLab and was recertified at Level Green in April, 2023.