Todd Hillhouse

Todd Hillhouse serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, affiliated with the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. His research program focuses on elucidating neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction and pain disorders through rigorous preclinical modeling, with emphasis on developing novel therapeutic interventions.

Dr. Hillhouse's educational background includes:

• Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University
• M.S. from Northern Michigan University
• B.S. from Northern Michigan University

His research interests span multiple critical domains in behavioral neuroscience:

• Investigation of electronic-cigarette effects on abuse liability and health risks
• Exploration of interactions between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and substance use disorders
• Development of non-opioid pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain treatments
• Mechanistic studies of ketamine, opioids, and antipsychotics in rodent models
• Analysis of discriminative stimulus properties and antidepressant mechanisms

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications (2021-2025) reveals consistent focus on psychopharmacological mechanisms, particularly examining ketamine metabolites, opioid alternatives, and antipsychotic compounds. Key methodological approaches include discriminative stimulus assays, pain behavior models, and depression-related behavioral paradigms in rodents, with strong emphasis on translating findings to clinical applications for addiction and pain management.

Scientific Awards: No specific awards or honors were documented in the provided materials.

Dr. Hillhouse maintains an active undergraduate mentoring program, supervising research assistantships and independent studies focused on electronic-cigarette effects, depression-substance use interactions, and novel pain treatments. While specific grant funding sources weren't detailed, his laboratory operations and publication output indicate active research support.

His laboratory currently conducts three integrated projects: (1) electronic-cigarette abuse liability assessment, (2) MDD-substance use disorder interaction modeling, and (3) development of non-opioid pain therapeutics. These projects utilize standardized behavioral pharmacology approaches including drug discrimination, pain behavior assays, and depression-related behavioral models in rodent subjects.