Prestigious Lister Prize awarded to York academic

Posted on Thursday 19 June 2025

Dr Chris Hill, from the Department of Biology and the York Structural Biology Laboratory, will receive £300,000 through the award, which will allow a team of scientists from the universities of York, Leeds and Cambridge to study the mechanisms behind the production of viral proteins. 

Innovative blend of technologies

Through an innovative blend of structural biology, biophysics and high-resolution imaging, Dr Hill and his team explore the complex mechanisms of how RNA viruses (e.g. SARS-CoV-2, polio) hijack host cell machinery to produce viral proteins, a process central to the life cycle of many human pathogens. 

The aim of their research is to build an integrated picture of how structured RNA elements control viral protein synthesis, a critical step toward developing novel antiviral strategies. 

Dr Hill said: “An enormous amount of work has gone into developing this proposal, and I'd like to highlight in particular the efforts of my PhD student, Miguel Aracena Velazquez. This flexible, long-term funding will enable me to invest in an entirely new area, supporting talented members of my team like Miguel in building workflows, collaborations and expertise for in situ structural biology." 

Viral proteins

Viruses carry genetic material which is used by the host cell to make viral proteins. Once inside a cell, a crucial step in their infection process is taking control of the cell’s protein-making machinery, called ribosomes. 

The Lister Prize will enable the researchers to take 'snapshots' of virally-hijacked ribosomes at atomic resolution within frozen cells. Previously, the only way to visualise these molecules was to painstakingly purify them and assemble them in a test tube.