Sarah Hillenbrand

Sarah Hillenbrand earned her PhD in neuroscience at UC Berkeley, using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study human motor learning. She taught courses in neuroscience, general scientific method, science writing, and storytelling at Stanford University in the Thinking Matters program. She later developed and taught courses in science communication in Stanford's Program in Writing and Rhetoric. Before coming to USF, she developed and taught courses on psychology, social justice, media literacy, and college and career readiness in Bay Area high schools. Now at USF, she works to combine her love for the brain and nervous system with her passion for creating meaningful, memorable educational experiences for all learners. As director of the neuroscience program at USF, she oversees the development of the new interdisciplinary major which aims to center neurodiversity and create a more just world.

• Cognitive neuroscience
• Human motor learning
• Science communication
• Pedagogy

• Alliant International University, Preliminary Single Subject Teaching Credential in Social Science, 2021
• UC Berkeley, PhD in Neuroscience, 2015
• Kenyon College, BA in Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Spanish Area Studies, 2007

• AP Psychology and Writing Skills Teacher, Making Waves Academy
• College & Career Readiness and Social Justice Teacher, KIPP King Collegiate High School
• Lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, Stanford University
• Adjunct professor in Psychology, University of San Francisco
• Lecturer in the Thinking Matters Program, Stanford University

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2010-2013

• Hillenbrand SF, Raveh D, & Amedi A (2019). What can sensory substitution tell us about brain organization? In Sensory Substitution and Augmentation (Ed. Fiona McPherson). Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.
• Hillenbrand SF, Ivry RB, & Schlerf JE. Effects of task-related changes in heart rate on estimation of hemodynamic response and model fit. Neuroimage.
• Hansen KA, Hillenbrand SF, & Ungerleider LG (2012). Effects of Prior Knowledge on Decisions Made Under Perceptual vs. Categorical Uncertainty. Frontiers in Neuroscience.
• Hansen KA, Hillenbrand SF, & Ungerleider LG (2012). Human Brain Activity Predicts Individual Differences in Prior Knowledge Use During Decisions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
• Hansen KA, Hillenbrand SF, & Ungerleider LG (2011). Persistency of priors-induced bias in decision behavior and the fMRI signal. Frontiers in Neuroscience.