Bree Grillo-Hill

Director of SJSU Bridges Stem Cell Center (SCILL)
408-924-4890
bree.grillo-hill@sjsu.edu
ISB 552
Grillo-Hill Lab

• A.B. Biochemistry, Occidental College
• Ph.D. Biology and Biomedical Sciences, emphasis in Developmental Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis

• BIOL135A "Eukaryotic Cell & Molecular Biology I"
• BIOL30 "Principles of Biology I "
• BIOL135L "Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory

The Grillo-Hill lab is working to understand how changes in acid levels inside a cell, also called intracellular pH, can change the behavior of cells. Cell generate acids as a result of normal cellular processes, and acid production can change in response to stresses or cues from the environment. This change in acid levels can cause the cell to behave differently, and we believe contributes to progression of diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. We are investigating how changes in intracellular pH change cell behavior, including: (1) identifying pH-sensitive molecules; (2) characterizing changes in protein biochemistry at different pH levels; (3) bioengineering fluorescent probes and tools to measure and alter intracellular pH; and (4) investigating pH dynamics during development and in disease states. We use a broad range of techniques to address our questions, including Drosophila genetics, mammalian cell biology, light and fluorescent confocal microscopy, and protein biochemistry.

• L. Martins, R. Wong, F.J. Larabee, B.K. Grillo-Hill. "A Rapid, Simple Workflow for Quantification of External Adult Drosophila Structures". J. Vis. Exp. (213), e67485. 2024. doi:10.3791/67485

• J. Peralta, B. DuPriest, D. Orozco, J. Reyna Pacheco, L. Martins, R.A. Soriano, A. Wong, R. Wong, and B. Grillo-Hill. “Drosophila Nhe2 overexpression induces autophagic cell death.” 2024. Molecular Biology of the Cell 35(7):br13, 1–10.

• B.K. Grillo-Hill​ and K.A. White​. “Oncogenic Beta-catenin mutations evade pH-regulated degradation.” 2019. Molecular and Cellular Oncology 6 (1): 1554470.

• K.A. White*, B. K. Grillo-Hill*#, M. Esquivel, J. Peralta, V.N. Bui, I. Chire, D. L. Barber#. “β-catenin is a pH sensor with decreased stability at higher intracellular pH”. 2018. Journal of Cell Biology 217(11):3965-3976​

• K.A. White, B. K. Grillo-Hill, D. L. Barber. “Cancer cell behaviours mediated by dysregulated pH dynamics at a glance.” 2017. Journal of Cell Science 130, 663-669 doi:10.1242/jcs.195297.

• B. Ulmschneider, B.K. Grillo-Hill, D. Azimova, D.L. Barber, T. Nystul. “Increased intracellular pH is necessary for adult epithelial and embryonic stem cell differentiation.” 2016. Journal of Cell Biology 215 (3): 345.

• B.K. Grillo-Hill, C.-H. Choi, M. Jimenez-Vidal and D.L. Barber. “Increased H+ Efflux is Sufficient to Induce Dysplasia and Necessary for Viability with Oncogene Expression.” 2015. eLife 10.7554/eLife.03270.