
Profiles
Dr Natasha Hill
Associate Professor in Biomedical Sciences
School of Biomedical Sciences (Faculty of Health)
Biography
Biography
Associate Professor in Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth
Qualifications
After graduating from Bristol University with a degree in Biochemistry, I completed a PhD on the genetics of Type 1 diabetes with Prof John Todd at The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford. I then moved to the USA to train in cellular immunology in order to investigate the effect of diabetes gene variants on the development of autoimmunity, working with Dr Nora Sarvetnick at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. This work led to an interest in the interaction between inflammation and the target islet tissue, and the potential for target resistance and islet regeneration. I returned to the UK and worked briefly as an independent research fellow at the Blizard Institute in Whitechapel, part of Barts and The London Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry, before obtaining an academic position at Kingston University in 2008. At Kingston I established a successful research group supported by sustained external grant funding, alongside highly effective teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. I was granted Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2015. I also established and led the interdisciplinary Diabetes and Cardiovascular Research Group, and I was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015.
In 2021, I joined the School of Biomedical Sciences within the Faculty of Health at Plymouth University, where I teach cell and molecular biology and lead a research group focused primarily on the role of matrix and matricellular proteins as therapeutic targets to treat pancreatic cancer, and in supporting stem cell differentiation/beta cell regeneration to treat diabetes. My group also has an interest in the regulation of alternative splicing by metabolic conditions.
Professional membership
Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy
Professional member of Diabetes UK
Member of the British Society for Matrix Biology
Member of the Society for Endocrinology
Roles on external bodies
I regularly review grants for various funding agencies including Diabetes UK, MRC and BBSRC, and have also been a member of the expert review panel for the Polish National Science Centre.
I review manuscripts for a wide range of journals; recent examples include EBioMedicine, Human Molecular Genetics, Clinical Science, Scientific Reports, World Journal of Gastroenterology.
I am on the editorial board of Current Biomarkers journal.
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals