Biography
Dr. Harriet Hammond is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tulane University School of Medicine, where she conducts high-containment biomedical research in biosafety level 2 and 3 laboratories. Her expertise spans molecular biology, toxicology, immunology, and virology, with a focus on understanding the health effects of airborne exposures and advancing safety standards in laboratory science.
Dr. Hammond was recently awarded the prestigious ORISE Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2025–2027) to investigate the toxicity and mechanisms of action of airborne palytoxins using AI-driven multi-omics approaches. She also received a Career Enhancement Grant from the Tulane National Primate Research Center to expand her training in AI and data science for translational biomedical research.
Her prior research includes investigating toxicological responses to environmental exposures using animal models at Louisiana State University, cellular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and regulatory-focused biomedical research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In addition to her research, Dr. Hammond taught biology and anatomy at Southern University and delivered invited lectures on study design, protocol development, and scientific writing to Tulane medical students.
Dr. Hammond holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical & Veterinary Medical Sciences from Louisiana State University, along with dual B.S. degrees in Biological Sciences and Psychology and an M.S. in General Biology. Her peer-reviewed publications span toxicology, respiratory health, and cardiovascular biology. She is also actively engaged in applying artificial intelligence to biomedical research and public health innovation, bridging science and technology to address critical health challenges.
Awards & Recognitions
Dr. Harriet Hammond, PhD, has been awarded a 2025 TNPRC Career Enhancement Grant for her project titled "Enhancing Nonhuman Primate Research Through AI and Bioinformatics-Based Omics Profiling of Bacillus anthracis Exposure." This grant supports her ongoing work in advancing research methodologies through the integration of AI and omics technologies.
Dr. Harriet Hammond has been selected to receive a prestigious Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship through the Tulane University School of Medicine’s Center for Airborne Infection and Transmission Science (TUCAiTS).
Dr. Hammond’s research proposal, "Leveraging AI and Multi-Omics Data to Investigate the Toxicity and Mechanisms of Action of Airborne Palytoxins in Cellular and Animal Models" (ICPD-2025-30), was chosen for its scientific excellence, innovation, and potential to significantly impact public health and national intelligence efforts.
Working under the mentorship of her Research Advisor, Dr. Chad J. Roy, and in coordination with an advisor from the Intelligence Community, Dr. Hammond is expected to begin her fellowship on September 30, 2025. Her work will advance TUCAiTS’ mission of addressing urgent questions related to airborne toxins and infectious agents through groundbreaking interdisciplinary research.
This achievement reflects Dr. Hammond’s dedication and the exceptional caliber of research taking place at Tulane. We are honored to support her as she begins this exciting new chapter in her postdoctoral journey.
