MCWMedical College of Wisconsin · Pharmacology
Hillard Lab
Cecilia J Hillard · Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Research Focus
Dr. Cecilia J. Hillard's lab at the Medical College of Wisconsin focuses on developing new medications to treat anxiety disorders. The lab is particularly interested in a protein called sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2), which is involved in the regulation of brain chemicals that influence anxiety. By creating small-molecule inhibitors of SCP-2, the team aims to enhance certain receptor signals in the brain, offering the potential for safer and more effective anxiety treatments.
anxiety disordersCB1 receptorssterol carrier protein-2drug developmentendocannabinoids
Research Aims
3AIM 01Develop new small molecules to inhibit SCP-2
AIM 02Characterize SCP-2 binding to novel inhibitors
AIM 03Evaluate the effects of SCP-2 inhibitors on anxiety-related behaviors
Skills the Lab Values
computer-assisted drug design (CADD)in vitro cellular assaysbehavioral assayspharmacokinetic studiesmolecular synthesis
Output against the department
Publications1,609top 1% of dept.5th of 462
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations26ktop 12% of dept.57th of 462
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.