Dr. Gmerice Hammond joined the faculty of the Department of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology on July 1, 2021. She has just recently been awarded a new grant – NIH LRP. Dr. Hammond completed a BA in Biology and an MD at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and Internal Medicine Residency at Columbia University Medical Center. Prior to coming to Washington University for cardiology training, she completed an MPH in Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and formal training in Preventive Cardiology and Medical Nutrition. During her MPH she studied underlying causes of gender and race based inequities in cardiovascular disease, and published original research on gender inequities in achieving evidenced-based recommended LDL levels and race based inequities in cardiovascular disease awareness. During both internal medicine residency and clinical cardiology training she gained insights into the barriers facing clinical leaders as they implement interventions to succeed under federal policies. Her inquiry into the impact of these policies on race and socioeconomic based health care inequities led her to stay on as a research fellow studying health policy under the mentorship of Karen Joynt Maddox where she has distinguished herself in the development of health policy implementation science and equity measures. Her ongoing work contributes to a deeper understanding of how payment models influence the choices that hospitals make under financial incentives, and whether the impact is towards worsening or improving inequities.
She was honored with the prestigious American Heart Association Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Young Investigator Award for her work on risk adjustment and social determinants of health, and distinguished herself within the division of cardiology with the Burton Sobel Award for Excellence in Clinical Cardiovascular Research. She has been recently awarded the esteemed Merck/American College of Cardiology/Association of Black Cardiologists Fellowship Award to support her research this year. She will join the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis as a general cardiologist. In addition to research interests in health care policy and inequities in quality and outcomes, Dr. Hammond has a clinical interest in the application of intensive lifestyle interventions in preventive cardiology using dietary and traditional medical therapeutics, to provide a hybrid approach to primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular atherosclerotic disease as well as cardiovascular disease risk factors: hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Dr. Hammond will also hold a concurrent administrative appointment as Faculty Leader in the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion where she is developing anti-racism scholarship methods for clinical researchers, and educational training for faculty, staff, and trainees to advance anti-racism efforts of WUSM. Key interest(s): General Cardiology, Intensive Lifestyle interventions, Plant Based Management of Coronary artery disease.