Ms. Hammar serves as the Director of the Human Research Protection Program. She previously served as the IRB Manager and as a non-scientist member. She also holds an appointment as a Senior Instructor in the College of Health Sciences, teaching in the PhD in Health Sciences and Speech-Language Pathology Doctoral programs.
Before joining RMU, she served component groups of the American Physical Therapy Association. Her last position was as Executive Director of the Section on Geriatrics. Her professional experience includes program implementation for the American Lung Association and American Red Cross and historical research working with the American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine on the Medical Diagnostic Ultrasound: A Retrospective on Its 40th Anniversary monograph and temporary Smithsonian exhibit.
Long interested in the intersection between healthcare providers and community/social beliefs about health, Ms. Hammar graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in the History and Sociology of Science. She earned “distinction in the major” and the Rose Research Award for her honors thesis, A Professional or Volunteer Approach?: Red Cross Nurses in WWI. Ms. Hammar continued her education at the University of Wisconsin in the History of Science, again focusing on the history of medicine and nursing. Her master’s thesis was From Medical Exclusion to Health Education: Milwaukee Public School Nurses 1910-1920.