Biography
Professor Andy Hill gained his BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and his PhD at Imperial College, London. He held post-doctoral positions in the MRC Prion Unit (London) and in the Department of Pathology at the University of Melbourne as a Wellcome Trust Prize Travelling Research Fellow. Andy joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Melbourne in 2002 and moved his lab into the Bio21 Institute when it opened in 2005. In 2015, Andy moved his laboratory to the La Trobe Institute of Molecular Sciences (LIMS) at La Trobe University where he is was Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Genetics and Director of one of five university-wide Research Focus Areas (RFA Understanding Disease). In 2017 he was appointed Director of LIMS and he also established the La Trobe Research Centre for the Study of Extracellular Vesicles (RCEV) and was the inaugural Director of the centre. From 2020, Andy has been appointed Associate Provost (Research and Industry Engagement) for the College of Science, Health and Engineering at La Trobe University.
Andy is a previous holder of an National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Research Fellowship, and an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (Level 3). He has been the recipient of several awards and prizes including a Victorian Young Tall Poppy Award in 2006, the Merck Research Excellence Medal (2010) and Beckman Coulter Discovery Science Award (2019) from the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
His laboratory works on the understanding of molecular mechanisms underpinning neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and prion diseases with an aim of translating fundamental discoveries into the design of novel therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases. He has published over 200 publications, has an h-index of 78 and over 29,000 citations of his work (Google Scholar).
Academic Qualifications
1998 – PhD, ‘Molecular analysis of human prion strains’, Imperial College, University of London.
1998 – DIC (Diploma of Imperial College), Imperial College, University of London, UK.
1992 – BSc (HONS – 1st Class), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
1991 – BSc, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Employment History
2020 – Associate Provost Research & Industry Engagement (SHE College), La Trobe University
2017 – 2020 Director, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University
2017 – 2019 Director, La Trobe Research Centre for Extracellular Vesicles, La Trobe University
2015-2017 – Director, Research Focus Area (Understanding Disease), La Trobe University
2015-2016 – Professor and Head, Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe University
2013-2015 – Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne
2013-2015 – Associate Director (Structural and Cellular Biology), Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Melbourne
2009-2012 – Associate Professor and Reader, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne
2003-2008 – Senior Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne
2002 – Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow, MRC Prion Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London
2000-2001 – Wellcome Trust Prize Travelling Research Fellow, Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne
1998-2000 – MRC Research Associate, MRC Prion Unit, Imperial College School of Medicine, London
Awards
2020 – International Society for Extracellular Vesicles Special Achievement Award
2019 – Merck Research Excellence Medal (from ASBMB)
2010 – Australian Research Council Future Fellow (FT3)
2010 – National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellow
2008 – Young Investigator Award, Asia-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry
2008 – National Health and Medical Research Council Career Development Fellow (CDAII)
2007 – Young Investigator Award, International Society for Neurochemistry
2006 – Victorian Young Tall Poppy Award
2005 – Young Investigator award Lorne Conference on Protein Structure
2005 – Sigma Aldrich-IUBMB Fellowship
2005 – Applied Biosystems Edman Award (from ASBMB)
2004 – Young Investigator award International Society for Neurochemistry
2003 – National Health and Medical Research Council RD Wright Fellow
2000 – Wellcome Trust Prize International Travelling Research Fellowship
Professional Positions
2017-current – Member, Australian Research Council College of Experts
2016-current – President, International Society for Extracellular Vesicles
2013-current – Associate Editor, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles
2010-current – Academic Editor, PLoS One
2005-current – Member, International Society for Neurochemistry
2003-current – Member, Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2014-2016 – Executive Chair (Communications), International Society for Extracellular Vesicles
2013-2015 – Member, Australian Research Council College of Experts
2012-2013 – Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles
2012-2014 – Elected Member, Executive Board, International Society for Extracellular Vesicles
2010-2012 – Member, National Health and Medical Research Council Academy
2007-2009 – Member and Chair, National Health and Medical Research Council Grant Review Panel
Professor Andy Hill gained his BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and his PhD at Imperial College, London. He held post-doctoral positions in the MRC Prion Unit (London) and in the Department of Pathology at the University of Melbourne as a Wellcome Trust Prize Travelling Research Fellow. Andy joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Melbourne in 2002 and moved his lab into the Bio21 Institute when it opened in 2005. In 2015, Andy moved his laboratory to the La Trobe Institute of Molecular Sciences (LIMS) at La Trobe University where he is was Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Genetics and Director of one of five university-wide Research Focus Areas (RFA Understanding Disease). In 2017 he was appointed Director of LIMS and he also established the La Trobe Research Centre for the Study of Extracellular Vesicles (RCEV) and was the inaugural Director of the centre. From 2020, Andy has been appointed Associate Provost (Research and Industry Engagement) for the College of Science, Health and Engineering at La Trobe University.