RESEARCH
In a nutshell, I am interested in what makes the human head human. To do that, I look at several lines of evidence. These include: 1) soft tissue (i.e., brain) and hard tissue (skull) interactions; 2) the effects of genetic mutations on skull development and 3) changes in the skull across species.
My graduate work focused mostly on the first two items, but these days I’m spending much of my time working on evolutionary changes in the temporal bone and the structures involved with hearing and balance. I’m investigating whether fossil hominids may have had the same hearing and balance capabilities as modern humans.
Finally, in my current position, I have embarked on a research agenda that focuses on the assessment of anatomical education for undergraduates. This will involve evaluating various types of learning modalities to find the most effective ones for the students at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Adapted from Hill 2008
PUBLICATIONS
Beals M, Radovčić J, Frayer DW, Hill CA (2016) Cochlear Labyrinth Volume in Krapina Neandertals. Journal of Human Evolution 90: 176-182.
Hill CA, Radovčić J, Frayer DW (2014) Investigation of semicircular canal variation in the Krapina Neandertals. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 154:302-306.
Hill CA, Martinez-Abadias N, Motch S, Austin JR, Richtsmeier JT, Wang Y, Jabs EW, Aldridge, K (2013) Postnatal brain and skull growth in an Apert syndrome mouse model. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A 161A: 745-757.
Hill CA (2011) Ontogenetic change in temporal bone pneumatization in humans. Anatomical Record 294: 1103-1115.
Hill CA, Vaddi S, Moffitt AJ, Kane AA, Marsh JL, Panchel J, Richtsmeier JT, Aldridge K (2011) Intracranial volume and whole brain volume in infants with unicoronal craniosynostosis. Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal 48: 394-398.
Martinez-Abadias N, Percival C, Aldridge K, Hill CA, Ryan T, Sirivinunnabood S, Wang Y, Sun M, Ulhorn VL, Jabs EW, Richstmeier J (2010) Beyond the closed suture in Apert mouse models: evidence of primary effects of FGFR2 signaling on facial shape at P0. Developmental Dynamics 239: 3058-3071.
Aldridge K, Hill CA, Austin JR, Percival C, Martinez-Abadias N, Neuberger T, Wang Y, Jabs EW, Richtsmeier JT (2010) Brain phenotypes in two FGFR2 mouse models for Apert syndrome. Developmental Dynamics 239:987-997.
Wang Y, Sun M, Uhlhorn VL, Zhou X, Peter I, Martinez-Abadias N, Hill CA, Percival CJ, Richtsmeier JT, Huso DL, Jabs EW (2010) Activation of p38 MAPK pathway in the skull abnormalities of Apert syndrome Fgfr2+/P253R mice. BMC Developmental Biology 10:22.
Hill CA, Sussan TE, Reeves RH, Richtsmeier JT (2009) Complex contributions of Ets2 to craniofacial and thymus phenotypes of trisomic “Down syndrome” mice. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A 149A: 2158-2165.
Hill CA, Richtsmeier JT (2008) Methods for analyzing three-dimensional structure in temporal bone pneumatization. Journal of Human Evolution 55: 682-690.
Hill CA, Reeves RH, Richtsmeier JT (2007) Effects of aneuploidy on skull growth in a mouse model of Down syndrome. Journal of Anatomy 210: 394-405.
Wang Y, Xiao R, Yang F, Karim BO, Iacovelli AJ, Cai J, Lerner CP, Richtsmeier JT, Leszl JM, Hill CA, Yu K, Ornitz DM, Elisseeff J, Huso DL, Jab EW (2005) Abnormalities in cartilage and bone development in the Apert syndrome FGFR2+/S252W mouse. Development 132(15): 3537-3548.
Hill CA (2000) Evaluating mandibular ramus flexure as a morphological indicator of sex. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 111: 573-577.
