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Sharon L. Hillier, PhD
Richard Sweet Endowed Chair in Reproductive Infectious Disease; Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences; Professor, Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Director, Reproductive Infectious Disease Research, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
We believe that women’s health research should be first and foremost, instead of an afterthought. I dream of a time that young women have the same power and control of their lives as young men do.
Sharon L. Hillier, PhD
Research in Brief
Dr. Hillier's research focuses on understanding the vaginal microbiome and its role in women's health, particularly in relation to sexually transmitted infections and HIV. Through her work, she aims to develop effective prevention strategies and improve health outcomes for women worldwide.
Current Projects
NIH-funded research emphasis areas in Dr. Hillier’s laboratory:
- Evaluation and testing of biomedical products for prevention of HIV.
- Identification and characterization of vaginal microbes associated with preterm birth and pelvic inflammatory disease.
- Evaluation of methods for diagnosis of vaginal infections among symptomatic women.
- Factors impacts sustained vaginal colonization by lactobacilli
Selected Publications
- Srinivasan S, Richardson BA, Wallis JM, Fiedler TL, Strenk SM, Hoffman NG, Proll S, Chirenje ZM, Livant EW, Fredricks DN, Hillier SL, Marrazzo JM. Vaginal bacteria and proinflammatory host immune mediators as biomarkers of HIV acquisition risk among African women. J Infect Dis. 2024;230:1444-1455. PMID: 39248500. PMCID: PMC11646615.
- Chappell CA, Kiser JJ, Brooks K, Randolph R, Macio IA, Meyn LA, McWhinney S, Rick A-M, Muniz GB, Kwon KM, Letterio CL, Naik S, Kreter B, Bunge KE, Krans EE, Hillier SL. Pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of sofosbuvir/velpatasvir for the treatment of hepatitis C virus during pregnancy Clin Infect Dis. 2024:ciae595. PMID: 39688397. PMCID: PMC12043070.
- Hillier SL, Bekker LG, Riddler SA, Hendrix CW, Badal-Faesen, Macdonald P, Nair G, Lombaard J, Caraco Y, Peer A, Patel M, Vargo R Homony B ,Nedrow K, Evans B, Wickremasingha P, Zhou Y-P, Teal V, Hwang P, McMullan C, Kaufman KD, Robertson MN, Plank RM. Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of once-monthly oral islatravir: a phase 2a study 2 in participants at low risk for acquiring HIV-1. J Infect Dis. 2025:jiaf222. PMID: 40327547.
For additional publications, visit Pubmed.
Research Group
In the News
Jul 29, 2020
Pumped Up for HIV Prevention
Aug 7, 2019
NEXT Up: Why Dr. Sharon Hillier is a woman who rocks
Jun 24, 2019
Dr. Sharon Hillier: Empowering Women in the Developing World
Jun 18, 2019
Dr. Sharon Hillier: Fighting for Research on Medications Used During Pregnancy
Jun 5, 2019
Dr. Sharon Hillier: Normalizing the Language of Sex