Welcome to the Hill Laboratory homepage.
My research is focussed on the identification of biologically active chemicals which include chemical contaminants which impact animal health or chemical signals which alter animal behaviour.
A major research effort of my group is the study of the interactions between environmental contaminants and wildlife and human health. We are interested in how biologically active contaminants such as estrogens and antiandrogens influence sexual differentiation of fish in rivers and estuaries of the UK and other countries. Many of these chemicals arise from discharges of wastewater effluents into surface waters or run off from agricultural operations.
Similar types of contaminants can also be found in human tissues including placenta. There is concern that chemicals with androgen receptor blocking activity may affect the health of male newbornes resulting in cryptorchism and hypospadia. In adult life, other problems such as lowering of sperm counts or testicular germ cell cancer may occur.
To investigate the mixtures of environmental chemicals accumulating in the environment and in biota, we use a variety of analytical techniques. These include bioassay directed fractionation and xenometabolomics. Our work has shown that androgen receptor blocking chemicals are ubiquitous in the environment and can accumulate in fish and human tissues. Together with estrogens, they may cause intersexuality and feminize male fish. The effects of accumulating antiandrogenic chemicals in our bodies has still to be determined.
We also collaborate with scientists at Sussex studying insect behaviour to determine how pheromones influence ant trails and recognition of food. We have ongoing collaborations with Professor Sue Hartley at the University of York, where we have been using metabolite profiling approaches (metabolomics) to study how fungi alter plant defence reactions.