Dr Kate Hammond

Personal Statement

I came to Liverpool in late 2011 to take up my current position as a teaching focussed lecturer in Genetics and Molecular Biology. I then became co-director for the Genetics BSc program in September 2012 and subsequently program director from September 2013. I also have a strong interest in inclusive education and supporting students with disabilities and mental health difficulties during their studies.

I graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1996 with a degree in a Natural Sciences, specialising in Genetics. I then moved to the Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh where I completed my PhD on vertebrate eye development under the supervision of Bob Hill in 2000. Between 2000 and 2010, I worked in as a postdoctoral research associate/fellow in Tanya Whitfield’s Laboratory in Sheffield, investigating vertebrate ear development and evolution. My research focussed on the role of Hedgehog and FGF signalling in early zebrafish ear development and on how early inner ear development has evolved, using a comparative approach in lamprey and zebrafish. Before coming to Liverpool I then worked for a year as laboratory manager in Steve Renshaw’s laboratory, also in Sheffield.

I retain a strong interest in developmental genetics, zebrafish genetics and evolutionary developmental biology and teach on genetics and development modules from year 1, through to year 3. With my BSc and MBiolSci research students I currently use semi-systematic review methodology to carry out comparative development and genetics projects. I also often run year 3 school-based projects, and have a long standing interest in outreach and widening participation in university education. In 2013 I helped a group of extremely keen undergraduates set up their own Life Sciences outreach group, which now run as a Liverpool Guild of Students society. They can be found via the Guild societies web pages.