Ann Hammer, MPH
Ms. Hammer is a BioWatch epidemiologist for the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP). She was employed with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for 5 years before joining CIDRAP in November 2006. While at the MDH, Ms. Hammer worked in the public health laboratory in both the virology and the molecular epidemiology units. She developed and validated assays such as West Nile virus and SARS, as well as performing routine diagnostic testing. More recently, she focused on assay development, including HIV drug-resistance genotyping and rapid detection of norovirus using real-time polymerase chain reaction technology.
Her work at the MDH included collaboration with state epidemiologists and a number of laboratories throughout the United States in addition to a close work with local public health clinics. She also participated on a rotating on-call team to perform emergency laboratory testing.
After receiving her BS degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Ms. Hammer completed her MPH degree in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota.