David Hamer, MD

Dr. Hamer is a board-certified specialist in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tropical infectious diseases and extensive field experience in maternal, neonatal, and child survival research including studies of health systems strengthening, neonatal sepsis, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. During the last 30 years, he has supervised and provided technical support to numerous studies in developing countries that evaluated interventions for improving neonatal survival, improving access for pregnant women to emergency obstetrical care, treatment and prevention of malaria, micronutrient deficiencies, diarrheal disease, and pneumonia. In addition, Dr. Hamer is the Surveillance Lead for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, a global network of 71 sites in 28 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection (www.istm.org/geosentinel). In this role, he has been collaborating with the Travelers’ Health Branch of the CDC on enhanced surveillance of the current monkeypox outbreak, COVID-19 surveillance, and important retrospective analyses of dengue in travelers.

At Boston University, Dr. Hamer has been involved in many COVID-19-related prevention, control, and research projects. As a faculty member in the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories and the Precision Diagnostics Center, he assisted with the COVID-19 mitigation strategies necessary for keeping the campus healthy and safe. Dr. Hamer also served as the director of the BU COVID-19 Surveillance and Response Team, and a member of the Medical Advisory Group to the president of Boston University, the Community Health Oversight Group, and the Vaccine Preparedness Group. Dr. Hamer has particular expertise in the epidemiology and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 as well as strategies for prevention of transmission, including vaccination. Dr. Hamer served as the interim director of CEID in 2022-2023 during Dr. Bhadelia’s sabbatical.