Faculty

Shirley Y Hill, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry, Human Genetics, and Psychology

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email

Education & Training

PhD
Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
Pennsylvania Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs

Professional Affiliations

Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Member, Society of Biological Psychiatry
Member, Research Society on Alcoholism

Research Interests

Genetic/epigenetic influences on addiction; Genetic/epigenetic influences on brain structure
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. Hill SY, Homanics GE, Farris SP, Baldoni PL Cross-generational transcriptomic effects of alcohol use disorder in third generation offspring. International Journal of Neuropharmacology, in Review, August 2025.
  2. Hill SY, Edenberg HJ, Corvin A, Thorgeirsson T, Below JE, Goldman D, Leal S, Almasy L, Cox NJ, Daly M, Neale B. Whole genome sequencing of pedigrees with high density of substance use and psychiatric disorders: A Meeting Report. Genes, Brain and Behavior. 2025; 24(1):e70017. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbb.70017.
  3. Bas-Hoogendam, JM, Hill SY, Pine DS, ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group. Structural brain correlates of childhood inhibited temperament: an ENIGMA-Anxiety mega-analysis. I JAACAP, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2025.06.026.
  4. Hill, SY, Hostyk J. A whole exome sequencing study to identify rare variants in multiplex families with alcohol use disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2023,14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1216493.
  5. Rice RC, Gil DV, Baratta AM, Frawley RR, Hill SY, Farris SP, Homanics GE. Inter- and transgenerational heritability of chronic preconception stress or alcohol exposure: Translational outcomes in brain and behavior. Neurobiology of Stress, 2023;29:100603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100603.

Clinical Interests

Etiology of alcohol & substance use disorders; Epigenetic regulation of genetic influences; Neuroimaging and psychiatric disorders
Selected Clinical Publications & Products
  1. Gosling CJ, Hill, SYCortese, S. Associations between relative age at school and persistence of ADHD in prospective studies: A meta-analyis of individual participant data.Lancet Psychiatry, 2023;10(12):922-933. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(23)00272-9
  2. Kumar L, Hill SY, Creswell K. Social cognition and problematic alcohol use: An organizing theoretical framework and suggestions for future work. In: Psychology of Learning and Motivation. New Directions in Addiction Science, 2023. KD Federmeier and CE Fairbairn,79 (ISBN: 978-0-443-19386-6).
  3. Hill SY, Wellman JL, Zezza N, Steinhauer SR, Sharma V. Epigenetic effects on HPA axis genes: Association with cortical thickness, ERP components and SUD outcome. Behav Sci; 2022;12(10),347.
  4. Hill SY, Jones BL, Haas GL. Suicidal ideation and aggression in childhood, genetic variation and young adult depression. J of Affective Disorders, 276, 954-962, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.049
  5. Hill SY and Sharma VK. DRD2 methylation and regional grey matter volumes in young adult offspring from families at ultra-high risk for alcohol dependence. Psychiatry Res: Neuroimaging 286:31-38, 2019. doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2019.03.006.

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical student education

New from Pitt Psychiatry: The Effect of DRD2 Methylation on Brain Morphology in People at High Risk for Alcohol Dependence

How does a family background of alcohol dependence affect brain morphology? In a recent study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, Shirley Hill, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Human Genetics, explored this question through the lens of dopamine signaling, with the goal of determining if changes in dopaminergic expression influence the development of the brain. Dopamine, which is important in...

Hill et al. Report in Epigenomics that Individuals with a Family History of Alcohol Dependence May Be at Higher Risk of Developing Cancer

Hill et al. Epigenomics 2017

Alcohol use is responsible for about 4% of all deaths worldwide. Alcohol abuse and dependence are also frequently seen in individuals diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Defining the factors that contribute to this increased risk for these cancers is critical to the ultimate goal of reducing cancer development. Because about 30% of all types of cancers involve the HRAS oncogene, its expression is of importance to...