Michael Hammer, PhD
Contact:
Dr. Michael Hammer is the Director of the University of Arizona Genetics Core (UAGC) and co-director of the UACC Genomics Shared Resource, with joint appointments in Neurology and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He is also a member of the Steele Children’s Research Center, Bio5, and the Arizona Cancer Center. Dr. Hammer’s research combines medical genetics and human population genetics, including landmark studies on human diversity's African origins, interbreeding between Homo species, and genome diversity in great apes. In recent years, his lab has applied next-generation sequencing to uncover genetic causes of neurodevelopmental disorders, publishing findings on pathogenic variants linked to early-onset epileptic encephalopathies. His team also studies modifier genes that influence the clinical variability of Mendelian disorders. As co-chair of the Molecular Oncology Tumor Board, Dr. Hammer collaborates on precision oncology projects to advance gene-targeted therapies for cancer.
Education
Selected Publications
- Veeramah, K. R., R. N. Gutenkunst, A. E. Woerner, J. C. Watkins, M. F. Hammer (2014). Evidence for increased Levels of positive and negative selection on the X chromosome versus autosomes in humans. Mol Biol Evol.
- Veeramah, K. R., M. F. Hammer (2014). The impact of whole-genome sequencing on the reconstruction of human population history. Nat Rev Genet 15(3): 149-162.
- Veeramah, K. R., T. M. Karafet, D. Wolf, R. A. Samson, M. F. Hammer (2014). The KCNJ8-S422L variant previously associated with J-wave syndromes is found at an increased frequency in Ashkenazi Jews. Eur J Hum Genet 22(1): 94-98.
- Estacion, M., J. E. O'Brien, A. Conravey, M. F. Hammer , S. G. Waxman, S. D. Dib-Hajj, M. H. Meisler (2014). A novel de novo mutation of SCN8A (Nav1.6) with enhanced channel activation in a child with epileptic encephalopathy. Neurobiol Dis 69: 117-123.
- Karafet, T. M., F. L. Mendez, H. Sudoyo, J. S. Lansing, M. F. Hammer (2014). Improved phylogenetic resolution and rapid diversification of Y-chromosome haplogroup K-M526 in Southeast Asia. Eur J Hum Genet.
- Elhaik, E., T. Tatarinova, D. Chebotarev, I. S. Piras, C. Maria Calo, A. De Montis, M. Atzori, M. Marini, S. Tofanelli, P. Francalacci, L. Pagani, C. Tyler-Smith, Y. Xue, F. Cucca, T. G. Schurr, J. B. Gaieski, C. Melendez, M. G. Vilar, A. C. Owings, R. Gomez, R. Fujita, F. R. Santos, D. Comas, O. Balanovsky, E. Balanovska, P. Zalloua, H. Soodyall, R. Pitchappan, A. Ganeshprasad, M. F. Hammer, L. Matisoo-Smith, R. S. Wells, Genographic Consortium (2014). Geographic population structure analysis of worldwide human populations infers their biogeographical origins. Nat Commun 5: 3513.
- Veeramah, K. R., L. Johnstone, T. M. Karafet, D. Wolf, R. Sprissler, J. Salogiannis, A. Barth-Maron, M. E. Greenberg, T. Stuhlmann, S. Weinert, T. J. Jentsch, M. Pazzi, L. L. Restifo, D. Talwar, R. P. Erickson, M. F. Hammer (2013). Exome sequencing reveals new causal mutations in children with epileptic encephalopathies. Epilepsia.
- Hammer, M. F. (2013). Human hybrids. Sci Am 308(5): 66-71.
- Wall, J. D., M. A. Yang, F. Jay, S. K. Kim, E. Y. Durand, L. S. Stevison, C. Gignoux, A. Woerner, M. F. Hammer, M. Slatkin (2013). Higher levels of neanderthal ancestry in East asians than in europeans. Genetics 194(1): 199-209.
- Yang, Y., D. V. Vasylyev, F. Dib-Hajj, K. R. Veeramah, M. F. Hammer, S. D. Dib-Hajj, S. G. Waxman (2013). Multistate structural modeling and voltage-clamp analysis of epilepsy/autism mutation Kv10.2-R327H demonstrate the role of this residue in stabilizing the channel closed state. J Neurosci 33(42): 16586-16593.