Research Background

PhD Research, University College London

October 2011 – Present
London, United Kingdom
UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square

Amber’s PhD research is a translational project focused monitoring biomarkers for mitochondrial dysfunction (i.e. cellular energy changes) in Multiple Sclerosis using 9.4T MRI. She works within the Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation and the Department of Neuroinflammation.

Amber’s PhD is funded by the Grand Challenges (including: Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and the Biomedical Research Centres at UCLH, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfields Hospital) and the UCL Overseas Research Scholarship.

Publications:

Amber Michelle Hill and Professor Olga Ciccarelli (2013). Preclinical and Clinical Applications of 1H-MRS in the Spinal Cord in Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy:Tools for Neuroscience Research and Emerging Clinical Applications, 1st Edition. Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier.

Amber Michelle Hill, Mohamed Tachrount, Nils Mulhert, Dan Altmann, Alan Thompson, and Olga Ciccarelli. Metabolic changes in the gray matter and its association with cognitive impairment in relapsing remitting multiple scloersis. Queen Square Symposium 2013.

Torben Schneider, Gemma Nejati-Gilani, Mohamed Tachrount, Ying Li, Amber M Hill, Olga Ciccarelli, Ken Smith, David Thomas, Daniel C Alexander, and Claudia A M Wheeler-Kingshott. Diffusion MRI reveals tissue specific changes in early and late stages of degeneration within the spinal cord. ISMRM 2014.

Amber Michelle Hill, Mohamed Tachrount, David L Thomas, Kenneth J Smith, Xavier Golay, and Olga Ciccarelli. N-acetyl aspartate predicts disease severity in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). ISMRM 2015.

Clinical Trial Data Manager (Research Assistant)

2015
MS-SMART is a clinical research trial lead by Dr. Jeremy Chataway investigating whether three potential drug treatments could slow or halt disability progression in people with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. The trial has 15 sites collaborating nationally. I managed the clinical research data and sponsor queries for the electronic case report forms in the Queen Square MS Centre.

Research Associate – (Honorary Research Contract)

2013-2015
Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Research (Non-medical); I analyzed patient MRI and spectroscopy, as well as translational research in collaboration with clinical researchers. The innovative aim was to compare and translate pre-clinical data to clinical findings.

Remedica Medical Education and Publishing

2012 – 2015
London, United Kingdom

Amber contributed monthly journal review to Remedica’s Current Medical Literature: Multiple Sclerosis. Remedica and Current Medical Literature journals are review publications, in print and online, that identify and highlight important developments in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of a particular therapeutic areas. Each issue features in-depth critical review articles, written by practicing specialists, discussing current and emerging topics of clinical interest.

Publications:
Journals that Amber’s reviews were published in can be found here.

UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square

Research Assistant
June 2010 – October 2011 (1 year 5 months)
London, United Kingdom

Experimental Neuroinflammation Group; Department of Neuroinflammation
Research Interests: immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy, energy deficiency in multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, reactive oxygen species, hypoxia, axonal injury

Publications:
Amber Michelle Hill, Bernadett Kalmar, Mona Sadeghian, and Linda Greensmith. An in vivo measurement of superoxide radical production in mutant SOD1 mice. UCL Institute of Neurology Queen Square Symposium, 2012.*Finalist

Amber Michelle Hill and Professor Kenneth Smith. Demyelinating lesion induced by the intraspinal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide. UCL Institute of Neurology: Multiple Sclerosis Symposium London, oral presentation, 2010.

Masters of Science Research (Clinical Neuroscience)

2009-2010
London, United Kingdom
Roehampton University, Department of Life Sciences

Dissertation: Role of 9-cis retinoic acid against amyloid beta [1-40]-induced neural stem cell toxicity and the mediating role of endogenous interleukin 1 beta (Distinction)

Amber received her Master of Science (Distinction) in Clinical Neuroscience in 2010.

Bachelors Degree, Psychology (Neuroscience), Chemistry, Denison University

2005-2009
Psychology (major), Neuroscience (concentration), Chemistry (minor)

Vanderbilt University, Psychiatry Department

Research Intern
2007
Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Project – Neural basis of cognitive control disturbances and emotional self-regulation in Major Depressive Disorder

Denison University, Psychology Department

Research Fellow
2006
Granville, Ohio, United States

Project – The interaction of knowledge and learning with cross-classified items

Amber received her bachelors degree in Psychology, Neuroscience and Chemistry at Denison University in 2009.

Publications:

Amber Michelle Hill and Professor Seth Chin Parker. The interaction of knowledge and learning with cross-classified items. Denison University Summer Research Scholars Symposium, poster presentation. Granville, Ohio, United States, 2006.