Professor Lisa J Hill PhD FHEA

Image of Lisa Hill

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Professor of Translational Neuroscience
Affiliated with the Department of Inflammation and Ageing
Affiliated with the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science

Contact details

Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Lisa Hill is a Translational Neuroscientist in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Birmingham. Her research focuses on brain and eye health, delivering integrated programmes that combine discovery science, experimental medicine and data-driven approaches to improve outcomes in neurological disease and injury. 

Her work centres on the role of neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disease in conditions including traumatic brain injury, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. She has developed patented drug delivery technologies and led the translation of novel therapies designed to protect neural tissue and prevent neurodegenerative disease. 

Professor Hill is Deputy Chief Investigator and Biofluid Biomarker Theme Lead for mTBI-PREDICT, a major international programme funded by the U.K. Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Department of War. Her team develops scalable biomarker platforms to detect brain injury earlier and stratify patients at risk of poor outcomes, with a particular focus on military and high-risk populations exposed to repeated or blast-related injury. This includes work on thermal and physiological biomarkers to understand the impact of environmental stressors, such as heat exposure, on brain function and recovery. 

Her wider portfolio includes large-scale discovery and experimental medicine studies, the development of mobile, field-deployable technologies to monitor brain health in real-world settings, and leadership within the Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre. Alongside her research, she leads multidisciplinary teams across preclinical discovery, clinical translation and innovation, and is committed to training the next generation of scientists while driving forward solutions that deliver real-world impact in brain health.

Qualifications

  • Member of the Royal Society of Biology (MRSB), 2020
  • Post-graduate Certificate in Higher Education, 2020
  • PhD in Medicine, 2015
  • BMedSc Neuroscience, 2010

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

Professor Hill supervises Masters and PhD students in projects relating to:

  • Brain injury
  • Degenerative diseases of the eye (AMD, Glaucoma)
  • Technologies to enhance drug delivery into the CNS

If interested in undertaking research in Lisa’s laboratory, please contact her on l.j.hill@bham.ac.uk

Research

Research Interests

  • Identifying novel biomarkers for neurological diseases
  •  Developing in vitroex vivo and in vivo models of neurodegenerative disease
  •  Understanding extracellular matrix dynamics in the healthy and diseased eye
  •  Developing new therapies for ocular disease
  •  Developing methods to deliver drugs into the eye

Current Projects

  •  Developing anti-fibrotic and neuroprotective treatments for neurodegenerative disease (glaucoma)
  •  Investigating mechanisms of extracellular matrix dysfunctions in glaucoma
  •  Development of Immunotherapies for Age-related Macular Degeneration
  •  Identifying novel fluid and hormone biomarkers after brain injury

Related Research

For additional information on research and publications please visit Lisa's Google Scholar Profile and Research Gate Profile.

Other activities

Awards:

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Authority 2020
  • Institute of Clinical Sciences Director’s Award 2019
  • IChemE Global Awards Finalist for Biotechnology 2017
  • House of Commons “SETforBRITAIN” finalist, Westminster UK 2016
  • Members-In-Training Outstanding Award,  ARVO, USA 2012

Citizen/Patient Engagement and Outreach:

  • Regular presenter at Macular Society patient groups
  • PPIE Lead for NIHR Funded research
  • Working closely with veteran partners and their families

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hewitt, BJ, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Fulton, D, Hill, LJ, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM & Botfield, HF 2026, 'Adult organotypic brain slice cultures recapitulate extracellular matrix remodeling in hemorrhagic stroke', Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 19, 1722240. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2025.1722240

Ruwan Wanni Arachchige, P, Gao, Y, Idrees, I, Fildes, J, Finch, A, Hawa, W, Craig, M, Brookes, MJ, Hill, LJ, Lucas, SJE, Mitchell, JL, Sinclair, AJ, Novak, J, Bagshaw, AP, Wilson, M, Fernandez-Espejo, D, Mullinger, KJ & UK mTBI Predict Consortium 2026, 'Assessing optimisation of 3T MRI protocol across multi-site, multi-vendor settings for studying mild Traumatic Brain Injury: mTBI Predict Consortium study', Aperture Neuro, vol. 6. https://doi.org/10.52294/001c.157692

Yiangou, A, Phu Do, T, Mollan, S, Thaller, M, Mitchell, JL, Mugo, CW, Tsermoulas, G, Hill, LJ, Lucas, SJE, Ashina, M & Sinclair, AJ 2026, 'Calcitonin gene-related peptide induces headache attacks in people with idiopathic intracranial hypertension', Brain.

Roberts, JA, Batie, M, Ponsford, AH, Poh, J, Hewitt, BJ, Botfield, HF, Hill, LJ, Sanderson, CM, Rocha, S & Sharma, P 2026, 'NRF2 upregulation by CDDO-Me protects AC16 human cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced toxicity', Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, vol. 194, 118878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118878

Lange, MG, Vickers, A, Hill, LJ, Mollan, SP, Mitchell, J, Sinclair, AJ & Lee, AG 2026, 'Pro-Con: Antiobesity Drugs Such as Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Should Be a First-Line Treatment in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension', Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 117-127. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNO.0000000000002431

Grech, O, Mugo, W, Hill, LJ, Heaselgrave, SR, Alimajstorovic, Z, Yiangou, A, Lyons, HS, Mitchell, J, Lavery, GG, Fulton, D & Sinclair, AJ 2026, 'The metabolic consequences of evoked spreading depolarization in brain slices', Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37175-w

Cox, K, Shi, C, Read, N, Patel, MT, Ou, K, Liu, Z, Wu, J, Cendananawati, S, Le Brun Powewll, J, Goldberg Oppenheimer, P, Hill, LJ, Nicholson, L, Dick, AD & Liu, J 2025, 'Age-Associated Decline in Autophagy Pathways in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium and Protective Effects of Topical Trehalose in Light-Induced Outer Retinal Degeneration in Mice', Aging Cell. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.70081

Lyons, HS, Sassani, M, Brunger, H, Lake, A, Jefferies, B, Thaller, M, Yiangou, A, Homer, V, Dharm-Datta, S, Ellis, H, Matharu, M, Hill, LJ, Mitchell, JL & Sinclair, AJ 2025, 'Introduction of a classification interview for post-traumatic headache after concussion', Journal of Headache and Pain, vol. 26, no. 1, 206. https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-025-02149-2

Roberts, PA, Thomas, CN, Bellamy Plaice, G, Roberts, JA, Jones, M-C, Andrews, JW & Hill, LJ 2025, 'Mathematical Models of Topically and Intravitreally Applied Ranibizumab', Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), vol. 66, no. 11, 45. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.11.45

Abstract

Hill, L, Begum, G, Hubbard, J, Mugo, C, Botfield, H, Lyons, H, Thaller, M, Yiangou, A, Grech, O, Mitchell, J, Mollan, S & Sinclair, A 2025, 'Identifying candidate molecular biomarkers in idiopathic intracranial hypertension patients (P7-2.008)', Neurology, vol. 104, no. 7 Supplement 1, 4448. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000211678

Preprint

Hewitt, BJ, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Fulton, D, Hill, L, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM & Botfield, H 2025 'Adult organotypic brain slice cultures recapitulate extracellular matrix remodelling in haemorrhagic stroke' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.15.665021

Review article

Lyons, HS, Hubbard, JC, Thomas, CN, Roberts, JA, Mugo, CW, Bellamy Plaice, G, Grech, O, Prosser, S, Strom, A, Lucas, SJE, Downie, LE, Gill, JM, Mitchell, JL, Sinclair, AJ, Hill, LJ & UK mTBI Predict Consortium 2026, 'Biofluid-based predictors of post-concussion symptoms: a narrative review of mild traumatic brain injury biomarkers', Brain Communications, vol. 8, no. 1, fcaf501. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf501

Anwar, F, Grech, O, Mugo, CW, Roberts, JA, Hubbard, JC, Thomas, CN, Sinclair, AJ & Hill, LJ 2025, 'A systematic review of the causes and consequences of spreading depolarization in neuroinflammation; implications for neurovascular disorders', Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 22, no. 1, 178. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-025-03503-6

Hewitt, BJ, Ali, M, Hubbard, J, Hill, LJ & Botfield, H 2025, 'A Systematic Review of the Differential Effects of TGF-β1 in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Preclinical Stroke Models', Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 14, no. 14, e037890. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.124.037890

UK mTBI Predict Consortium, Sassani, M, Ghafari, T, Arachchige, PRW, Idrees, I, Gao, Y, Waitt, A, Weaver, SRC, Mazaheri, A, Lyons, HS, Grech, O, Thaller, M, Witton, C, Bagshaw, AP, Wilson, M, Park, H, Brookes, M, Novak, J, Mollan, SP, Hill, LJ, Lucas, SJE, Mitchell, JL, Sinclair, AJ, Mullinger, K & Fernandez-Espejo, D 2025, 'Current and prospective roles of magnetic resonance imaging in mild traumatic brain injury', Brain Communications. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf120

View all publications in research portal