Cristal Hill

Assistant Professor of Gerontology

Is this your profile? Click to edit

Awards

USC- Davis School of Gerontology/ Gerontological Society of America: Nathan Shock New Investigator Award, 2024
LSU-Pennington Biomedical Research Center: Outstanding Postdoc of the Year, 2022
Orentreich Foundation: Dr. Norman Orentreich Award for a Young Investigator in Aging, 2021

Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL — BS — 08/2006 — Animal Science
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL — MS — 08/2009 — Animal Science (Immunology)
Southern Illinois University – School of Medicine, Springfield, IL — PhD — 08/2016 — Molecular Biology (Bio of Aging

Dietary Protein Restriction Remodels Adipose Tissue to Defend Against Age-Related Metabolic Decline
NIH · R00AG070273 · Sep 1, 2021 – May 31, 2026 · Role: Principal Investigator
Dietary Protein Restriction Remodels Adipose Tissue to Defend Against Age-Related Metabolic Decline
NIH · K99AG070273 · Sep 1, 2021 – Aug 31, 2023 · Role: Principal Investigator
Neuronal FGF21 Signaling in the Detection of Dietary Protein Restriction
NIH · F32DK115137 · Aug 1, 2017 – Jul 31, 2020 · Role: Principal Investigator

Long-term voluntary exercise reveals limited translation of hippocampal molecular responses into neuroprotection in 5xFAD mice. bioRxiv. 2026 Sep 22.. View in PubMed
Form and function of actin impacts actin health and aging. iScience. 2026 Sep 18; 29(9):117256.. View in PubMed
Dietary Protein Restriction Ameliorates Cardiac Inflammaging via AMPK-ULK1-Mediated Mitochondrial Quality Control. Aging Cell. 2026 Feb; 25(2):e70386.. View in PubMed
Form and function of actin impacts actin health and aging. bioRxiv. 2025 Nov 23.. View in PubMed
Low protein-induced-FGF-21 signaling remodels adipose tissue on reduced markers of senescence during aging. Geroscience. 2026 02; 48(1):55-75.. View in PubMed
Protein-Restricted Diets and Their Impact on Metabolic Health and Aging. Annu Rev Nutr. 2025 08; 45(1):269-297.. View in PubMed
The Future is Now – Emerging Trends in the Older Adult. J Hum Nutr Food Sci. 2024; 12(3).. View in PubMed
FGF21 is required for protein restriction to extend lifespan and improve metabolic health in male mice. Nat Commun. 2022 04 07; 13(1):1897.. View in PubMed
Antiaging diets: Separating fact from fiction. Science. 2021 Nov 19; 374(6570):eabe7365.. View in PubMed
Metabolism in the Midwest: research from the Midwest Aging Consortium at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association. Geroscience. 2022 02; 44(1):39-52.. View in PubMed