We are looking for an enthusiastic postdoc to investigate molecular mechanisms of microsporidian infection using soft X-ray tomography, cryo FIB-SEM, and cryoET. If you are interested, do not hesitate to get in touch and check out the application link. The closing date: 21st June 2026.

We just had our second -80 freezer failure in four years... On a Friday evening of course. All samples transferred safely, thanks to the amazing dedication of my team. Eppendorf CryoCube is disappointing in every possible way - it's neither a cube, nor does it stay cold.

Abstract submission for @biochemsoc.bsky.social Translation UK 2026 closes at 🚨MIDNIGHT 🚨 tonight! Please join us in Leeds for this fantastic meeting 👇 www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/f...

Two weeks left for abstract submission - please do register; it's a great UK meeting, and lots of opportunities for ECRs to share their work 👇

Chris H. Hill@chillzaa.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The @biochemsoc.bsky.social Translation UK 2026 meeting will be at @universityofleeds.bsky.social from 30th June - 2nd July. Fantastic keynote speakers including @jbquerido.bsky.social, @nickywhiffin.bsky.social, Nicolas Locker Register and submit your abstract here: tinyurl.com/muy5kvax

The @biochemsoc.bsky.social Translation UK 2026 meeting will be at @universityofleeds.bsky.social from 30th June - 2nd July. Fantastic keynote speakers including @jbquerido.bsky.social, @nickywhiffin.bsky.social, Nicolas Locker Register and submit your abstract here: tinyurl.com/muy5kvax

🤔 How do #proteins reshape RNA dynamics? Static structures tell only half the story. Using smFRET on the EI-FLEX, the @chillzaa.bsky.social lab at @yorkuniversity.bsky.social mapped viral protein–dependent RNA pseudoknot formation - revealing it as a binary, protein-triggered event > buff.ly/IVQYK72

🚨Last chance to apply for two PhD projects in my lab, applying structural biology and single molecule biophysics to investigate gene expression in RNA viruses: www.findaphd.com/phds/?Keywor...

🚨👇One week left to apply for this fully-funded PhD project to study RNA-protein complexes regulating enterovirus genome replication: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Understanding molecular mechanisms of protein-primed genome replication in enteroviruses at University of York on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - MRC DiMeN Doctoral Training Partnership: Understanding molecular mechanisms of protein-primed genome replication in enteroviruses at University of York, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

🚨Attention prospective PhD students🚨 Are you interested in molecular mechanisms, RNA viruses, structural biology or biophysics? 🧬🦠🧪 We have THREE fully-funded PhD projects available for October 2026 entry: www.findaphd.com/phds/?Keywor... Please share/repost, and get in touch if you're interested

chris hill PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships - 3 PhDs Listed

FindAPhD. Search Funded PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in chris hill. Search for PhD funding, scholarships & studentships in the UK, Europe and around the world.

findaphd.com

🚨Attention prospective PhD students🚨 Are you interested in molecular mechanisms, RNA viruses, structural biology or biophysics? 🧬🦠🧪 We have THREE fully-funded PhD projects available for October 2026 entry: www.findaphd.com/phds/?Keywor... Please share/repost, and get in touch if you're interested

chris hill PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships - 3 PhDs Listed

FindAPhD. Search Funded PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in chris hill. Search for PhD funding, scholarships & studentships in the UK, Europe and around the world.

findaphd.com

Enteroviruses cause over a billion infections each year, but the details of how their genomes capture host ribosomes have remained elusive. I'm pleased to share a new preprint from Miguel in our group, providing some new insights into this problem: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Structural and mechanistic insights into translation initiation on the enterovirus Type 1 IRES

Enteroviruses are a widespread and diverse set of pathogens responsible for over ~1 billion human infections annually. Upon cell entry, translation of the virus genome is mediated by an internal ribos...

biorxiv.org

This one is a bit of a departure from the usual and definitely a work in progress! We found that by using ab initio reconstruction at very high res, in very small steps, we could crack some small structures that had eluded us - e.g. 39kDa iPKAc (EMPIAR-10252), below. Read on for details... 1/x

bioRxiv Biophysics@biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social · 11mo ago

High-resolution ab initio reconstruction enables cryo-EM structure determination of small particles https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.08.674935v1

Ever struggled with low PNK efficiency on a highly structured piece of RNA? Sarah solved this problem by using a DNA scaffold to make the 5' end more accessible, improving the efficiency of end labelling. This enabled us to make smFRET measurements on the SARS-CoV-2 pseudoknot 🧬🔴🟢

Steve Quinn@steve-quinn-lab.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨 New preprint!🚨We introduce a DNA-scaffold strategy for efficient dye labelling of structured RNAs, enabling #smFRET studies of freely-diffusing SARS-CoV-2 pseudoknots🧬 👉 biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #smFRET #RNA #biophysics #SARSCoV2 #singlemolecule #Covid

New preprint alert! 🚨👇 I'm delighted to share the latest research from @jemmabetts.bsky.social in our group: ‘A new protein-dependent riboswitch activates ribosomal frameshifting’. Huge congratulations to Jemma for the first manuscript of her PhD! ✨ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A new protein-dependent riboswitch activates ribosomal frameshifting

Programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (PRF) is a ubiquitous translational control mechanism in RNA viruses, allowing them to change the relative abundance of proteins encoded in different reading fram...

biorxiv.org

I'm thrilled and honoured to receive the 2025 Lister Prize, along with seven other fantastic biomedical scientists 🔬🦠🧬 This award will enable us to determine high-resolution structures of viral protein synthesis inside infected cells

The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine@thelisterinstitute.bsky.social · last yr.

We are very proud to introduce our brand new 2025 #ListerFellows! This year there are eight Prize recipients. lister-institute.org.uk/a-warm-welco...

A tribute to George Sheldrick and SHELX and the impact on macromolecular and small-molecule crystallography journals.iucr.org/a/issues/202...

George M. Sheldrick (1942–2025)

In memory of George Sheldrick.

journals.iucr.org

Last day to apply for the CCP4 Structural Biology Summer School 2025! 31 July to 8 August at University of York. The programme will focus on X-ray crystallography but many model-building, refinement and validation aspects also relevant to cryo-EM 💎❄️ ccp4.github.io/summer-schoo...

Congratulations to Dr Sarah Graham @york.ac.uk #Physicsoflife group for successfully defending her thesis! Thanks also to Dr Tara Sabir & @agnesnoy.bsky.social for doing the honours as examiners, @bpsiyork.bsky.social for co-supervising & @chillzaa.bsky.social for all the help along the way!

a cartoon of snoopy jumping with the words yay congratulations below him

ALT: a cartoon of snoopy jumping with the words yay congratulations below him

media.tenor.com

Excited to share our new @science.org paper! Led by postdocs Ruchao Peng and Xin Xu, we used cryo-EM/ET to reveal the influenza ribonucleoprotein complex structure and its strand-sliding mechanism for RNA synthesis, paving the way for new antivirals. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Molecular basis of influenza ribonucleoprotein complex assembly and processive RNA synthesis

Influenza viruses replicate and transcribe their genome in the context of a conserved ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. By integrating cryo–electron microscopy single-particle analysis and cryo–electro...

science.org

a little É(as)tude... 🎹🐣 Happy holidays everyone!

It's here. The lumicks C-Trap is up and running with real samples from Durham, Hull, Newcastle and York consortium. Thanks @ukri.org #BBSRC for funding. @chillzaa.bsky.social

Super excited for the arrival of our brand new Lumicks C-Trap in Biology at York @yorkbioimaging.bsky.social, funded by @ukri.org BBSRC. This state-of-the-art optical tweezers / confocal microscope will enable us to probe the dynamics of structured viral RNAs, one molecule at a time 🔆🧬🔆

Foam film vitrification for cryo-EM https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.10.642366v1

New cryo-EM/ET story - a brilliant collaboration with Sergey Melnikov's lab in Newcastle @sergeymelnikov.bsky.social and Stefan Pfeffer's lab in Heidelberg @pfeffercryolab.bsky.social. Great work in particular by Karla Helena-Bueno and @sophiekopetschke.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Structurally heterogeneous ribosomes cooperate in protein synthesis in bacterial cells - Nature Communications

Cells can simultaneously produce structurally dissimilar ribosomes, suggesting functional specialization of distinct ribosome populations. Here, the authors show that distinct ribosomes cooperate rath...

nature.com

👀📅👇One week left to apply for this fully-funded UK PhD - closing date 3rd February. Come and join my lab in beautiful York to work on protein-RNA interactions in FMDV, then follow up with virology experiments at the world-leading Pirbright Institute🧬 Please share widely!

Chris H. Hill@chillzaa.bsky.social · 2y ago

🚨 I'm delighted to announce a fully-funded PhD studentship (October 2025 entry) in collaboration with the Pirbright Institute. Are you interested in FMDV genome replication and packaging? Fascinated by structure and RNA-protein interactions? More info here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

🚨 I'm delighted to announce a fully-funded PhD studentship (October 2025 entry) in collaboration with the Pirbright Institute. Are you interested in FMDV genome replication and packaging? Fascinated by structure and RNA-protein interactions? More info here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Probing the Function of RNA Structural Elements in the FMDV Genome using Biophysical and Genetic Approaches at The Pirbright Institute on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Probing the Function of RNA Structural Elements in the FMDV Genome using Biophysical and Genetic Approaches at The Pirbright Institute, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

🚨⏰One day left to apply for this fully-funded MRC DiMeN PhD to join me, @Steve_Quinn_Lab and Purba Mukherjee at the University of York. Apply here: www.dimen.org.uk/how-to-apply

How to apply | DiMeN DTP

Dates for applications, what you need to apply, course specific questions, and details about the application process.

dimen.org.uk

Chris H. Hill@chillzaa.bsky.social · 2y ago

We have a fully-funded 4 year PhD position in the lab, for October 2025 entry. Both UK and international students are eligible to apply. Please share and get in touch if you're interested 🧬🧪🦠 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Beautiful work! 🧬🧶 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Molecular basis of mRNA delivery to the bacterial ribosome

Protein synthesis begins with the formation of a ribosome-messenger RNA (mRNA) complex. In bacteria, the small ribosomal subunit (30S) is recruited to many mRNAs through base pairing with the Shine-Da...

science.org

Delighted to be advertising 2 exciting PhD projects 1) lncRNA derived micropeptides & their contribution to brain cancers with James Poulter & Lucy Stead 2) mechanisms of translational regulation by specialised ribosomes. @chillzaa.bsky.social & Ade Whitehouse www.findaphd.com/phds/?Keywor...

aspden PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships

FindAPhD. Search Funded PhD Projects, Programmes & Scholarships in aspden. Search for PhD funding, scholarships & studentships in the UK, Europe and around the world.

findaphd.com

I am about to be recruiting two post-docs to work on cryoEM and cryoET of amyloid aggregates... Anyone interested please drop me a line while the wheels of our HR department turn.............