Elizabeth M. C. Hillman, PhD
Elizabeth Hillman, PhD

Elizabeth Hillman, PhD

Member, St. Jude Faculty

  • Chair, Department of Imaging Sciences
  • Faculty, St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Endowed Chair

Education 

BS/MSci - University College London, London, UK (1998)
PhD – University College London, London, UK (2002)
Post-Doctoral – Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston, MA (2003-2005)
Instructor – Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (2005-2006)
Professor – Columbia University, New York, NY (2006-2024)

Honors and Awards

2025 St. Jude Endowed Chair in Imaging Sciences
2024 Chair, NINDS Board of Scientific Counselors (member 2022-)
2017-2024 Herbert and Florence Irving Professor, Columbia University
2023 National Academy of Inventors Fellow
2020 Royal Microscopical Society Mid-Career Scientific Achievement Award.
2019 Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) Fellow
2018 SPIE 2018 Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award 
2018 NIH “BRAIN 2.0” Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director and BRAIN Neuroethics Sub-Group
2016 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow
2016 Society of Photonics in Industry and Engineering (SPIE) Fellow
2015 Optical Society of America (OSA / Optica) Fellow
2011 Adolph Lomb Medal from the Optical Society of America (OSA) 
2010 NSF CAREER Award
2008 Rodriguez Junior Faculty Award, Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
1998-02 Wellcome Trust Prize PhD Studentship
1994-8 University College London Prize in Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy 

Research Interests 

  • Development of high-speed 3D microscopy and wide-field optical mapping approaches for dynamic, functional and metabolic in-vivo imaging. 
  • Development of dynamic image analysis, modelling and data visualization methods.
  • The application of in-vivo imaging approaches to understanding tissue physiology in health and disease, including neurovascular coupling and relationships between neuronal activity and real-time behavior.
  • Large-scale, high throughput and high-content microscopy of cell-types, structures and connectivity in the brain and organs across species.
  • High-speed in-vivo and bedside histopathology.

Contact Information

Elizabeth Hillman, PhD Department of Imaging Sciences St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105-3678

St. Jude Faculty List

Selected Publications

Harken A, Deoli NT, Perez Campos C, Ponnaiya B, Garty G, Lee GS, Casper MJ, Dhingra S, Li W, Johnson GW, Amundson S, Grabham P, ǂHillman EMC, ǂBrenner DJ. A combined ion beam irradiation platform and 3D fluorescence microscope for cellular cancer research. Biomed Opt Expr Mar 25;15(4):2561-2577, 2024. doi: 10.1364/BOE.522969. ǂco-corresponding 

Thibodeaux DN, Shaik MA, Kim SH, Voleti V, Zhao HT, Benezra SE, Nwokeabia CJ, Hillman EMC. Audiovisualization of real-time neuroimaging data. PLOS ONE 19(2): e0297435. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297435 (2024). 

Shahsavarani S, Thibodeaux DN, Xu W, Lodgher F, Kim SH, Nwokeabia C, Cambareri M, Yagielski AJ, Zhao HT, Handwerker DA, Gonzalez-Castillo J, Bandettini PA, Hillman EMC. Cortex-wide neural dynamics predict behavioral states and provide a neural basis for resting-state dynamic functional connectivity. Cell Reports Jun 27;42(6):112527, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112527

Patel KB, Liang W, Casper MJ, Voleti V, Li W, Yagielski AJ, Zhao HT, Perez-Campos C, Liu JM, Philipone E, Yoon AJ, Olive KP, Coley SM, Hillman EMC. High-speed light-sheet microscopy for the in-situ acquisition of volumetric histological images of living tissue. Nat Biomed Eng May;6(5):569-583, 2022. doi: 10.1038/s41551-022-00849-7

Chen TX, Pinharanda A, Steinemann NA, Yasuma-Mitobe K, Lee E, Hahn J, Wu L, Fanourakis S, Peterka DS, Hillman EMC. Evaluation of at-home methods for N95 filtering facepiece respirator decontamination. Sci Rep Oct 5;11(1):19750, 2021. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-99129-8

Zhao HT, Tuohy MC, Chow D, Kozberg MG, Kim SH, Shaik MA, Hillman EMC. Neurovascular dynamics of repeated cortical spreading depolarizations after acute brain injury. Cell Reports Oct 5;37(1):109794, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109794

+Oppenheimer J, +Patel K, Lindoo A, †Hillman EMC, and †Lev E. High-Speed 3D Imaging of Multiphase Systems: Applying SCAPE Microscopy to Analog Experiments in Volcanology and Earth Sciences. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems Mar 22, 2021(3). doi:10.1029/2020GC009410 +co-first authors, †co-senior authors. 

+Montgomery MK, +Kim SH, +Dovas A, Zhao HT, Goldberg AR, Xu W, Yagielski AJ, Cambareri MK, Patel KB, Mela A, Humala N, Thibodeaux DN, Shaik MA, Ma Y, Grinband J, Chow DS, Schevon C, †Canoll P, †Hillman EMC. Glioma-Induced Alterations in Neuronal Activity and Neurovascular Coupling during Disease Progression. Cell Reports Apr 14;31(2):107500, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.03.064. +co-first authors, †co-senior authors.  

+Xu L, +Li W, Voleti V, Zou D-J, †Hillman EMC, †Firestein S, "Widespread receptor-driven modulation in peripheral olfactory coding." Science Apr 10; 368(6487), 2020. doi: 10.1126/science.aaz5390. +co-first authors, †co-senior authors. 

Voleti V, Patel KB, Li W, Perez Campos C, Bharadwaj S, Yu H, Ford C, Casper MJ, Yan RW, Liang W, Wen C, Kimura KD, Targoff KL, Hillman EMC. Real-time volumetric microscopy of in vivo dynamics and large-scale samples with SCAPE 2.0. Nature Methods Oct;16(10):1054-1062, 2019. doi: 10.1038/s41592-019-0579-4 

Hillman EMC. Light sheet microscopy in neuroscience. Annual Reviews Neuroscience Jul 8;42:295-313, 2019. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-070918-050357.

Vaadia R†, Li W†, Singhania A†, Voleti V, Galindo S†, Lei Y-T, Lee JK, Lee KL, Carpenter N, Costantini D, Hillman EMC, Grueber WB. Proprioceptive neuron dynamics in freely crawling Drosophila larvae. Current Biology Mar 18;29(6):935-944.e4, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.060.

Hillman EMC, Voleti V, Patel K, Li W, Yu H, Perez-Campos C, Benezra SE, Bruno RM, Galwaduge PT. High-speed 3D imaging of cellular activity in the brain using axially-extended beams and light sheets. Curr Opin Neurobiol Jun;50:190-200, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.03.007.

Ma Y, Shaik MA, Kim SH, Kozberg MG, Thibodeaux DN, Zhao HT, Yu H., and Hillman EMC. Wide-field optical mapping of neural activity and brain haemodynamics: considerations and novel approaches’ Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. Oct 5;371(1705):20150360. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0360 (2016). 

Ma Y, Kozberg MG, Hillman EMC. Resting-state hemodynamics are spatiotemporally coupled to synchronized and symmetric neural activity in excitatory neurons. PNAS Dec 27;113(52):E8463-E8471, 2016. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1525369113.

Kozberg MG, Ma Y, Kim SH, Hillman EMC. Rapid postnatal expansion of neural networks occurs in an environment of altered neurovascular and neurometabolic coupling. J Neurosci Jun 22;36(25):6704-17, 2016. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2363-15.2016. 

Galwaduge PT, Kim SH, Grosberg LE, Hillman EMC. Simple wavefront correction framework for two-photon microscopy of in-vivo brain. Biomed. Opt. Express Jul 23;6(8):2997-3013, 2015. doi: 10.1364/BOE.6.002997. 

Bouchard MB, Voleti V, Mendes C, Lacefield C, Grueber W, Mann R, Bruno R, Hillman EMC. Swept Confocally Aligned Planar Excitation (SCAPE) microscopy for fast, volumetric microscopy of behaving organisms. Nature Photonics Feb;9(2):113-119, 2015. doi: 10.1038/nphoton.2014.323. (Cover article, ‘News and Views’ feature. Research Highlight in Nature Methods). 

Chen BR, Kozberg M, Bouchard MB , Shaik MA, Hillman EMC. A critical role for arterial endothelium in neurovascular coupling. JAHA Jun 12;3(3):e000787, 2014. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.000787.

Hillman, EMC. Coupling Mechanism and Significance of the BOLD Signal: A Status Report. Annual Review of Neuroscience 37:161-81, 2014. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-071013-014111. 

Rayshubskiy A, Wojtasiewicz TJ, Mikell CB, Bouchard MB, Timerman D, Youngerman BE, McGovern RA, Otten ML, Canoll, PD, McKhann II GM, Hillman EMC. Direct, intraoperative observation of ~0.1 Hz hemodynamic oscillations in awake human cortex: Implications for fMRI. NeuroImage Feb 15;87:323-31, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.10.044. 

Kozberg M, Chen BR, De Leo SE, Bouchard MB, Hillman EMC. Resolving the transition from negative to positive BOLD in the developing brain. PNAS Mar 12;110(11):4380-5, 2013. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1212785110.

Recent collaborations using Hillman-Lab technologies (selected) 

Zocchi D, Nguyen M, Marquez-Legorreta E, Siwanowicz I, Singh C, Prober DA, Hillman EMC, Ahrens MB. Days-old zebrafish rapidly learn to recognize threatening agents through noradrenergic and forebrain circuits. Curr Biol Dec 19, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.11.057. 

Benezra SE, Patel KB, Perez Campos C, Hillman EMC, and Bruno RM. Learning enhances behaviorally relevant representations in apical dendrites. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.98349.2 ELife, 2024.

Cooney PCǂ, Huang Yǂ, Li W, Perera DM, Hormigo R, Tabachnik T, Godage I, Hillman EMC, Grueber WB, Zarin AA. Neuromuscular Basis of Drosophila Larval Escape Behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA Dec 19;120(51):e2303641120, 2023. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2303641120.

Schaffer ES, Mishra N, Whiteway MR, Li W, Vancura MB, Freedman J, Patel KB, Voleti V, Paninski L, Hillman EMC, Abbott LF, Axel R. The spatial and temporal structure of neural activity across the fly brain. Nature Communications Sep 11;14(1):5572, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41261-2. 

Carbo-Tano M, Lapoix M, Jia X, Thouvenin O, Pascucci M, Auclair F, Quan FB, Albadri S, Aguda V, Farouj Y, Hillman EMC, Portugues R, Del Bene F, Thiele TR, Dubuc R, Wyart C. The mesencephalic locomotor region recruits V2a reticulospinal neurons to drive forward locomotion in larval zebrafish. Nature Neuroscience Oct;26(10):1775-1790, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41593-023-01418-0.

Goldblatt D, Huang S, Greaney MR, Hamling KR, Voleti V, Perez-Campos C, Patel KB, Li W, Hillman EMC, Bagnall MW, Schoppik D. Neuronal birthdate reveals topography in a vestibular brainstem circuit for gaze stabilization. Curr Biol Mar 7:S0960-9822(23)00188-4, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.048.

Schmidt ERE, Zhao HT, Park JM, Dipoppa M, Monsalve-Mercado MM, Dahan JB, Rodgers CC, Lejeune A, Hillman EMC, Miller KD, Bruno RM, Polleux F. A human-specific modifier of cortical connectivity and circuit function. Nature Nov;599(7886):640-644, 2021. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04039-4.

Wen C, Miura T, Voleti V, Yamaguchi K, Tsutsumi M, Yamamoto K, Otomo K, Fujie Y, Teramoto T, Ishihara T, Aoki K, Nemoto T, Hillman EMC, Kimura KD. 3DeeCellTracker, a deep learning-based pipeline for segmenting and tracking cells in 3D time lapse images. Elife Mar 30;10:e59187, 2021. doi: 10.7554/eLife.59187.

Miller J, Wang ST, Orukari I, Prior J, Sudlow G, Su X, Liang K, Tang R, Hillman EMC, Weilbaecher KN, Culver JP, Berezin MY, Achilefu S. Perfusion-based fluorescence imaging method delineates diverse organs and identifies multifocal tumors using generic near-infrared molecular probes. J Biophotonics Apr;11(4):e201700232, 2018. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201700232. 

Last update: January 2025

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