Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsAnsel Hillmer, PhD
Associate Professor AdjunctDownloadHi-Res Photo
About
Copy Link
Titles
Associate Professor Adjunct
Associate Director of Imaging, Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Biography
Ansel obtained his Ph.D. in Medical Physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2014. His research program features core areas of translational characterization of novel PET radiotracers, developing new imaging paradigms to improve quantification of brain neurobiology, and human neuroimaging research studying mechanisms underlying diverse psychiatric conditions. Research efforts are complemented by didactic activities lecturing at Yale and individual mentoring of trainees. Current projects include characterizing novel PET radiotracers of immune-related targets in the brain; developing novel imaging paradigms to study acute alcohol effects on neuroimmune and glutamate systems; assessment of dopamine release from smoked cannabis; method development for analyzing multimodal imaging data from fMRI-PET or PET-PET datasets; and implementing Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to identify different sources of PET radiotracer uptake.
Last Updated on April 07, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Post-Doctoral Fellow
- Yale University (2016)
- PhD
- University of Wisconsin, Medical Physics (2014)
- MS
- University of Wisconsin, Medical Physics (2011)
- BS
- Valparaiso University, Physics (2009)
Research
Copy Link
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Alcohol-Related Disorders; Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment; Neuroimaging; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome
ORCID
0000-0002-8105-1381
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Ansel Hillmer's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Ansel Hillmer's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Ansel Hillmer is interested in exploring.
Richard Carson, PhD
Kelly Cosgrove, PhD
Nabeel Nabulsi, PhD
David Matuskey, MD
Yiyun Huang, PhD
Irina Esterlis, PhD
32Publications
382Citations
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Neuroimaging
Publications
2025
Cannabinoid 1 receptor availability in posttraumatic stress disorder: A positron emission tomography study
Korem N, Bassir Nia A, Hillmer A, D’Souza D, Nabulsi N, Ropchan J, Huang Y, Cosgrove K, Levy I, Pietrzak R, Harpaz-Rotem I. Cannabinoid 1 receptor availability in posttraumatic stress disorder: A positron emission tomography study. Translational Psychiatry 2025, 15: 310. PMID: 40846835, PMCID: PMC12373994, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03519-9.BooksCitationsAltmetricConceptsPathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorderEmotional numbing symptomsCB1R availabilityPosttraumatic stress disorderEndocannabinoid systemStress disorderPositron emission tomographyTrauma-exposed participantsEndocannabinoid system's rolePositron emission tomography studiesCannabinoid receptor 1Emission tomography studiesMulti-faceted disorderFear learningCB1RSymptom expressionHealthy controlsCannabinoidDisordersTomography studiesEmission tomographyPreclinical studiesSymptomsHigher levelsReceptor 1Greater neuroimmune system deficit in women than men with alcohol use disorder
Zakiniaeiz Y, Hillmer A, Shi H, Pittman B, Nabulsi N, Huang Y, Bonomi R, Matuskey D, Angarita G, McKee S, Cosgrove K. Greater neuroimmune system deficit in women than men with alcohol use disorder. Biological Psychiatry 2025 PMID: 40412787, PMCID: PMC12353993, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.05.012.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsTranslocator protein availabilityAlcohol-induced neurodegenerationExecutive function tasksConsequences of alcohol useAlcohol use disorderBrain imaging scansTranslocator protein levelsSex-matched controlsExecutive functionLower hippocampalTSPO availabilityFrontal cortexTranslocator proteinUse disorderNeurocognitive functionBrain regionsSex differencesAlcohol useBrain-resident immune cellsNeuroimmune mechanismsFunctional tasksSystem deficitsAUDImaging scansNeuroimmune cells611. Cannabinoid 1 Receptor Availability in Men With Opioid Use Disorder: A Positron Emission Tomography Study
Nia A, Hillmer A, Aghaei A, Pittman B, Huang H, Nabulsi N, D'Souza D. 611. Cannabinoid 1 Receptor Availability in Men With Opioid Use Disorder: A Positron Emission Tomography Study. Biological Psychiatry 2025, 97: s350. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.02.850.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAcute Alcohol‐Induced Changes Measured With Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Positron Emission Tomography
Raval N, Smart K, Angarita G, Miller R, Huang Y, Krystal J, Carson R, Cosgrove K, O'Malley S, Hillmer A. Acute Alcohol‐Induced Changes Measured With Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Positron Emission Tomography. Addiction Biology 2025, 30: e70031. PMID: 40309934, PMCID: PMC12044519, DOI: 10.1111/adb.70031.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsBlood alcohol levelsAlcohol challengeEffects of acute alcohol consumptionPeak blood alcohol levelsLaboratory alcohol challengeNon-displaceable binding potentialMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5Acute alcohol challengeGlutamate releaseAlcohol-induced changesGlutamate receptor 5Alcohol consumptionAcute alcohol consumptionMGluR5 availabilityPET scansSocial drinkersEthanol doseAlcohol effectsBrain regionsAcute alcoholBinding potentialCortical regionsClinically relevant dosesDrinking occasionsAlcohol levels452. Examining the Role of the Kappa Opioid Receptor in Trauma-Related Psychopathology and Chronic Pain Using [11C]EKAP Positron Emission Tomography
Weiss E, Hart-Derrick V, Freeman D, Miller R, Hillmer A, Wagner A, Matuskey D, Esterlis I, Davis M. 452. Examining the Role of the Kappa Opioid Receptor in Trauma-Related Psychopathology and Chronic Pain Using [11C]EKAP Positron Emission Tomography. Biological Psychiatry 2025, 97: s283. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.02.690.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCorrecting SUVR bias by accounting for radiotracer clearance in tissue: A validation study with [18F]FE-PE2I PET in cross-sectional, test-retest and longitudinal cohorts
Oh M, Honhar P, Carson R, Hillmer A, Varrone A. Correcting SUVR bias by accounting for radiotracer clearance in tissue: A validation study with [18F]FE-PE2I PET in cross-sectional, test-retest and longitudinal cohorts. Cerebrovascular And Brain Metabolism Reviews 2025, 45: 1357-1370. PMID: 39981611, PMCID: PMC11846093, DOI: 10.1177/0271678x251322407.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVenous blood sampling for less invasive in vivo quantification of synaptic density with constant infusion of [18F]SynVesT-1 and PET
Asch R, Naganawa M, Moisieienko K, Weed M, Kapinos M, Zheng M, Hillmer A, Carson R, Pietrzak R, Esterlis I. Venous blood sampling for less invasive in vivo quantification of synaptic density with constant infusion of [18F]SynVesT-1 and PET. EJNMMI Research 2025, 15: 8. PMID: 39900828, PMCID: PMC11790547, DOI: 10.1186/s13550-025-01200-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPET Imaging of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 1 with [18F]TZ4877 in Nonhuman Primates
Gu J, Zheng M, Holden D, Fowles K, Qiu L, Felchner Z, Zhang L, Ropchan J, Gropler R, Carson R, Tu Z, Huang Y, Hillmer A. PET Imaging of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 1 with [18F]TZ4877 in Nonhuman Primates. Molecular Imaging And Biology 2025, 27: 54-63. PMID: 39779653, PMCID: PMC12207061, DOI: 10.1007/s11307-024-01979-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1Absorbed radiation dose estimatesReceptor 1Nonhuman primatesFree fractionPlasma free fractionRadiation dose estimatesMetabolite-corrected input functionF-18 labeled radiotracersArterial blood samplesCritical organsPET/CT systemBolus injectionF-18Anesthetized nonhuman primatesDosimetry studiesHuman studiesDose estimatesVT/fPPET imaging dataS1PR1PET imagingInput functionBlood samplesPonesimodPositron Emission Tomography Brain Imaging Methodologies
Hillmer A, Cosgrove K, Carson R. Positron Emission Tomography Brain Imaging Methodologies. 2025, 107-120. DOI: 10.1093/med/9780197640654.003.0009.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPositron emission tomographyBrain imaging studiesStudy of mental illnessDrug occupancyGroup differencesBinding potentialMental illnessSynaptic densityPET imaging dataBrain imagingPositron emission tomography imagingAbstract Positron emission tomographyMethodological considerationsNeurotransmitter synthesisEmission tomographyImaging studiesNeurotransmitter releaseVolume of distributionOutcome measuresClinical researchBPNDNeurotransmitterBrainIllnessImage data
2024
Amygdala Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, Pain Response, and Emotional Numbing in Trauma-Exposed Individuals
Korem N, Hillmer A, D’Souza D, Nia A, Levy I, Pietrzak R, Harpaz-Rotem I. Amygdala Cannabinoid 1 Receptor, Pain Response, and Emotional Numbing in Trauma-Exposed Individuals. JAMA Network Open 2024, 7: e2432387. PMID: 39250156, PMCID: PMC11385051, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.32387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and Concepts
News
Copy Link
News
- August 23, 2024
Microglia-Mediated Neuroimmune Suppression in PTSD Is Associated With Anhedonia
- September 22, 2022
Hillmer Awarded Grant to Develop Brain Imaging Tool to Study the Brain’s Immune System
- September 15, 2022
Bassir Nia Receives National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant
- September 13, 2022
Inaugural Yale Conference on Alcohol Research and Education (YCARE) Convenes Diverse Audience for an Interdisciplinary Day of Learning
Get In Touch
Copy Link