Professor Stephen G Hillier

Steve Hillier was appointed Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology on 31 October 2014 after 30 years of service to the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Stephen Gilbert Hillier (OBE, BSc(hons), MSc, PhD, DSc, FRCPath, FRCOG)

Emeritus Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology
Honorary Professorial Fellow
Curator of Patronage (2016-2019)

Mobile: +44(0)7704992862
Email: s.hillier@ed.ac.uk

Street: The Centre for Reproductive Health
Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR)
4-5 Little France Drive
Edinburgh BioQuarter
City: Edinburgh BioQuarter
Post Code: EH16 4UU

University Career

I retired as Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Vice-Principal International on 1 November 2014, having led the University of Edinburgh’s Internationalisation Strategy EDINBURGH GLOBAL since December 2008.

Research Interests

Steroids in health and disease
Regulation of ovarian function and dysfunction, including ovarian cancer

My research has helped to explain how women normally ovulate only one egg in each menstrual cycle, leading to the design of safer and more effective methods for treating infertility.

Academic Output

>230 published papers (Web of Science)
Award-winning medical textbook ‘Scientific Essentials of Reproductive Medicine’ Stephen G. Hillier, Henry C. Kitchener, James P. Neilson (eds) W.B. Saunders, 1996.
h-index=55 (Feb 2021)

Research Grants

Career-wide research grant support from UK Research Councils, charitable trusts and the European Commission, totalling approx. £5.5 million.

Current: MRC Developmental Clinical Studies (MR/J003611/1) Title: Reversing endometrial glucocorticoid deficiency in heavy menstrual bleeding. Investigators: Prof HOD Critchley, Prof BR Walker, Dr P Warner, Dr C Weir, Prof JP Iredale, Prof PTK Saunders, Dr S Semple, Prof SG Hillier.

Recent publications

Hillier SG, Lathe R. Terpenes, hormones and life: isoprene rule revisited. J Endocrinol. 2019 Aug;242(2):R9-R22. doi: 10.1530/JOE-19-0084. PMID: 31051473.

Harlow CR, Wu X, van Deemter M, Gardiner F, Poland C, Green R, Sarvi S, Brown P, Kadler KE, Lu Y, Mason JI, Critchley HOD, Hillier SG. Targeting lysyl oxidase reduces peritoneal fibrosis. PLoS One. 2017 Aug 11;12(8):e0183013. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183013. eCollection 2017. PMID: 28800626.

Hillier SG. On gonads and gadflies: the estrus angle. J Endocrinol. 2017 Jun;233(3):C1-C8. doi: 10.1530/JOE-17-0136. Epub 2017 Apr 6. PMID: 28385724.

Ren X, Wu X, Hillier SG, Fegan KS, Critchley HO, Mason JI, Sarvi S, Harlow CR. Local estrogen metabolism in epithelial ovarian cancer suggests novel targets for therapy. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2015 Jun;150:54-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.03.010. Epub 2015 Mar 24. PMID: 25817828.

Warner P, Weir CJ, Hansen CH, Douglas A, Madhra M, Hillier SG, Saunders PT, Iredale JP, Semple S, Walker BR, Critchley HO. Low-dose dexamethasone as a treatment for women with heavy menstrual bleeding: protocol for response-adaptive randomised placebo-controlled dose-finding parallel group trial (DexFEM). BMJ Open. 2015 Jan 14;5(1):e006837. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006837. PMID: 25588784.

Hillier SG. IVF endocrinology: the Edwards era. Mol Hum Reprod. 2013 Dec;19(12):799-808. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gat068. Epub 2013 Oct 10. PMID: 24113591.

Johnson N, Walker K, Gibson LJ, Orr N, Folkerd E, Haynes B, Palles C, Coupland B, Schoemaker M, Jones M, Broderick P, Sawyer E, Kerin M, Tomlinson IP, Zvelebil M, Chilcott-Burns S, Tomczyk K, Simpson G, Williamson J, Hillier SG, Ross G,Houlston RS, Swerdlow A, Ashworth A, Dowsett M, Peto J, Dos Santos Silva I, Fletcher O. CYP3A variation, premenopausal estrone levels, and breast cancerrisk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 May 2;104(9):657-69. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djs156. Epub 2012 Apr 3. PubMed PMID: 22472546.

Hillier SG. Nonovarian origins of ovarian cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Mar 6;109(10):3608-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201029109. Epub 2012 Feb 22. PubMed PMID: 22357760; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3309793.

External Roles (sample)

Chairman, Society for Endocrinology (1996-2000).
Editor-in-Chief, JOURNAL OF ENDOCRINOLOGY (2000-4).
Editor-in-Chief, MOLECULAR HUMAN REPRODUCTION (2007-12).
Member, UK Council of Graduate Education Executive Committee (2000-6).
Member, Overseas Research Scholarships Committee (Universities UK) (2002-5).
Member, Wellcome Trust Physiological Sciences Committee (2005-7; 2011).
Co-ordinator, NETWORK OF EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES IN THE LIFE SCIENCES (EUROLIFE) (1997-2004). EUROLIFE medallist, 2020.
Member, MRC Training and Career Development Board (2007-9).
Member, MRC Training and Career Group (2009-12).
Edinburgh University Press Board of Trustees (2008-14).
Member, Asia Scotland Institute, International Advisory Council (2013-present).
Scottish International Education Trust (2015-present).
Member, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Expert Advisory Committee: Hormonal Pregnancy Tests (2015-20).
Advisor to Royal Zoological Society of Scotland: Panda Breeding at Edinburgh Zoo (2016).
Chair, Academic Standing Committee, General Council Business Committee, University of Edinburgh (2016-present).

Commentary

Hillier SG (1997) Society safe from same fate as Dolly. The Times, Monday 10 March 1997, p21 Letter to the Editor.
Hillier SG (2013) Indian Visas. The Times, Monday 8 July 2013. Letter to the Editor.
Hillier SG (2008) Model masters but minimalist sixth forms. Times Higher Education Supplement 9 October 2008 Letter to the Editor.
Hillier SG (2011) Global ethos, single campus. Times Higher Education Supplement 10 February 2011. Letter to the Editor.

Stephen G Hillier Special Minute (76.64 KB PDF)

This article was published on 12 Jul, 2023