Ansel T Hillmer, PhD

 Ansel Hillmer, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology
Program Assistant, Medical School
Office:
University of Michigan
Radiology
2276 Medical Science Unit I, 1301 Catherine
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Email:
[email protected]
Phone:
Available to mentor
Ansel T Hillmer, PhD
Ansel Hillmer, PhD
Associate Professor
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications

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    • Qualifications
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
      Yale University School of Medicine, Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, New Haven, USA
      2014 - 2016
    • Ph.D., Medical Physics
      University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
      2011 - 2014
    • M.S., Medical Physics
      University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
      2009 - 2011
    • B.S., Physics, Mathematics, Humanities
      Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN
      2005 - 2009

    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Opioid Research Institute

    Research Overview

    · Translational characterization of novel Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracers
    · Development of novel imaging paradigms (i.e., with drug or behavioral challenge) that
    advance quantification of brain neurobiology
    · Translational study of neuroscience mechanisms underlying psychiatric conditions

    Recent Publications

     See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Preliminary evidence of neuroimmune system disruption in opioid use disorder: Findings from a pilot PET TSPO imaging study
      Woodcock E, Matuskey D, Huang YH, Nabulsi N, Najafzadeh S, Labaree D, Hillmer AT, Cosgrove K, Angarita GA. Brain Behavior and Immunity Health, 2026 Oct 1; 56: DOI:10.1016/j.bbih.2026.101337
    • Journal Article
      Neuroimaging evidence for a dopamine-independent association between motor cortex microstructure and Parkinson's disease severity.
      Honhar P, Tinaz S, Ebrahimian Sadabad F, Dias M, Yang Y, Henry S, Hillmer AT, Zakiniaeiz Y, Radhakrishnan R, Comley RA, Zhang X, Hooker BA, Zhang Y, Finnema SJ, Carson RE, Scheinost D, Matuskey D. NPJ Parkinsons Dis, 2026 Jun 5; DOI:10.1038/s41531-026-01411-x
      PMID: 42248873
    • Journal Article
      Imaging Neuroimmune Dysfunction: From TSPO to Emerging Positron Emission Tomography Targets
      Bonomi R, Raval N, Hillmer A, Cosgrove KP. Biological Psychiatry, 2026 Jun 1; 99 (11): 1013 - 1024. DOI:10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.11.010
      PMID: 41297785
    • Journal Article
      Multiple sources of β2*-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor binding are differentially affected during tobacco smoking abstinence as revealed by Independent Component Analysis of [18F]Flubatine PET images
      Raval NR, Calakos KC, Zheng MQ, Huttner A, Esterlis I, Huang H, Calhoun VD, Picciotto MR, Cosgrove KP, Hillmer AT. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2026 Jun 1; 51 (7): 1207 - 1216. DOI:10.1038/s41386-025-02311-z
      PMID: 41559453
    • Journal Article
      “Pseudo-reference-based Input Function Shape” (pRef-IFS): Towards a True image-derived input function for PET kinetic modeling
      Volpi T, Naganawa M, Carson RE, Hillmer AT. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 2026 May 1; 46 (5): 1238 - 1252. DOI:10.1177/0271678X251411712
      PMID: 41543053
    • Preprint
      Attenuated Acute Microglial Responsiveness in Participants with Alzheimer's Disease: An In Vivo LPS Challenge [11C]PBR28 TSPO-PET Pilot Study
      Salardini A, Hashemi-Aghdam A, O'Dell RS, Hillmer A, Camacho DF, Dyck KMV, Nelsen K, Ruan A, Strittmatter SM, Carson RE, Cosgrove KP, Dyck CHV, Mecca AP. 2026 Mar 6; Research Square, DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-9012605/v1
    • Journal Article
      Exceptional brain PET images from the NeuroEXPLORER: scans with targeted radiopharmaceuticals and comparison to HRRT
      Volpi T, Toyonaga T, Khattar N, Gallezot JD, Naganawa M, Vanderlinden G, Honhar P, Zeng T, Fontaine K, Mulnix T, Hu L, Sun X, Henry S, Matuskey D, Radhakrishnan R, Guo L, Hu Y, Zhang J, Zheng X, Nabulsi N, Huang Y, Badawi RD, Cherry SR, Hillmer AT, Jones T, Liu C, Morris E, Qi J, Li H, Carson RE. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, 2026 Feb 1; 53 (3): 2110 - 2121. DOI:10.1007/s00259-025-07605-4
      PMID: 41177836
    • Journal Article
      Greater Neuroimmune System Deficit in Women Than Men With Alcohol Use Disorder
      Zakiniaeiz Y, Hillmer AT, Shi H, Pittman B, Nabulsi N, Huang Y, Bonomi R, Matuskey D, Angarita GA, McKee SA, Cosgrove KP. Biological Psychiatry, 2026 Jan 1; 99 (1): 49 - 56. DOI:10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.05.012
      PMID: 40412787