Dustin B. Hammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Neurology
Center for Alzheimer's Care, Imaging and Research

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Excellence in Neuropsychology

Dustin B. Hammers, Ph.D. joined the University of Utah in 2011 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and clinical neuropsychologist at the Center for Alzheimer's Care, Imaging and Research (CACIR). He also is a member of the University of Utah Center on Aging.

Academic History

Dr. Hammers received a Bachelor's in Neuroscience from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he was a Distinguished Alden Scholar and Doanne Scholar and graduated summa cum laude. He completed a Master's in Psychology at Ohio University in 2006, where he also completed his PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2009. Following his internship in neuropsychology at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System in Michigan, Dr. Hammers completed his post-doctoral fellowship in 2011 at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Hammers is a member of the International Neuropsychological Society, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Neurology, the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, and the Society for Neuroscience. He is also a member of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society, Psi Chi National Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta, and Phi Beta Kappa.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Hammers specializes in the neuropsychological assessment of neurodegenerative disorders and other neuropsychiatric conditions. His clinical interests include memory disorders and executive decline in the elderly. He conducts comprehensive neuropsychological and tele-neuropsychological evaluations in the sub-specialty Cognitive Disorders Clinic, and is currently licensed as a clinical neuropsychologist in both Utah and Wyoming.

Research Interests

Dr. Hammers' research has focused primarily on the aging process, including the detection of early memory decline in dementia populations through computerized batteries or executive functioning tasks. Additional areas of interest have included research evaluating diagnostic consistency between clinical (neurological and neuropsychological assessment) and imaging (PIB, FDG-PET) data in an effort to improve diagnostic accuracy. Dr. Hammers' work has been published in several peer reviewed scientific journals and has been presented at a number of national and international conferences.

Selected Publications

• Hammers DB, Jung M, Pressler SJ, Sullivan BJ, Koelling T, Giordani B. (2012). Clinical Utility of Auditory Memory Testing in a Heart Failure Population. The Journal of cardiovascular nursing, Epub ahead of print.
• Hammers D, Spurgeon E, Ryan K, Persad C, Barbas N, Heidebrink J, Darby D, Giordani B. (2012). Validity of a brief computerized cognitive screening test in dementia. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology, 25(2), 89-99.
• Hammers D, Spurgeon E, Ryan K, Persad C, Barbas N, Heidelbrink J, Darby D, Giordani B (2011). Reliability of repeated cognitive assessment in patients with dementia using a brief computerized battery. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, 26(4), 326-333.
• Hammers DB, Suhr JA. (2010). Neuropsychological, impulsive personality, and cerebral oxygenation correlates of undergraduate polysubstance use. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 32(6), 599-609.

This Page Updated: Nov 6, 2012