Personal profile
Biography
Colin Hill has a Ph.D in molecular microbiology and is Professor in the School of Microbiology at University College Cork, Ireland. He was an SFI Principal Investigator in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He is also a founding Principal Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland, a multidisciplinary research Institute focusing on the role of gut microbiota in health and disease. His main interests are in bacteriophage, bacteriocins and the role they play in shaping the microbiome and as interventions capable of preventing infectious disease. He has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers and holds 18 patents in this area (in 2023 he had an ISI H factor of 100, Google H factor of 135). More than 70 PhD students have graduated from the laboratory. In 2005 Prof. Hill was awarded a D.Sc by the National University of Ireland in recognition of his contributions to research. In 2009 he was elected to the Royal Irish Academy, the highest honour for an Irish academic. In 2010 he was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology and together with his colleagues Prof. Gerald Fitzgerald, Prof. Paul Ross and Dr Catherine Stanton he was awarded the Metchnikoff Prize in Microbiology. He received the UCC Career Research Achievement Award in 2020. He served as President of ISAPP (International Scientific Association for Prebiotics and Probiotics) from 2012-2015.
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise. Molecular Microbiology, particularly in issues involving infection. Bacteriophages, Bacteriocins (applied and fundamental aspects), Pharmabiotics (bioactives in gut health), Clostridium difficile, antibiotic resistant pathogens Research Overview. We participate in APC Microbiome Ireland, a multidisciplinary research centre focusing on the role of gut microbiota in health and disease. Our main interests are in infectious disease, particularly in defining the mechanisms of virulence of foodborne pathogens and in developing strategies to prevent and limit the consequences of microbial infections in the gastrointestinal tract. We are also interested in the role of bacteriocins and bacteriophages as agents to limit the growth of bacteria in food or in the human gut. Publications For a complete list of publications please click Colin Hill (0000-0002-8527-1445) - ORCID
Teaching Activities
UCC Futures (primary)
- Food, Microbiome and Health
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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A Consensus Statement on establishing causality, therapeutic applications and the use of preclinical models in microbiome research
IHMCSA Consortium, May 2025, In: Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 22, 5, p. 343-356 14 p., 103.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Adaptations in gut Bacteroidales facilitate stable co-existence with their lytic bacteriophages
Cortés-Martín, A., Buttimer, C., Maier, J. L., Tobin, C. A., Draper, L. A., Ross, R. P., Kleiner, M., Hill, C. & Shkoporov, A. N., 2025, In: Gut Microbes. 17, 1, 2507775.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A hypermobile prophage in the genome of a key human gut bacterium
Shkoporov, A. N. & Hill, C., Apr 2025, In: PLOS Biology. 23, 4 April, e3003071.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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An optimised bead beating RNA extraction method for tough-to-lyse gram-positive bacteria
Scanlon, K., Ross, R. P. & Hill, C., Jun 2025, In: Microbe (Netherlands). 7, 100305.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A novel approach to Caudoviricetes taxonomy utilising whole proteome structure-structure comparison
Smith, L., Schmidt, T. S. B., Tolstoy, I., Skvortsov, T., Hill, C. & Shkoporov, A. N., 6 Aug 2025Research output: Other output
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Trillions of Viruses Live in Your Body. A.I. Is Trying to Find Them.
17/03/25
1 item of Media coverage
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Scientists use AI in hunt to identify viruses that inhabit our bodies
4/03/25
1 item of Media coverage
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