- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hammock, who holds a joint appointment with the Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, was inducted along with 13 other Fellows on Nov. 14 during the annual Fellowship meeting. He joins the ranks of more than 500 Academy Fellows, a governing group of distinguished scientists and other leaders who have made notable contributions to scientific research, education, and communication.
“We're proud to announce 2023's distinguished pool of new Fellows—each of their contributions to science and society represent major advancements in their respective fields,” said Academy Dean of Science and Research Collections Shannon Bennett. “Our Fellows body is a group of future thinkers and innovators whose leadership inspires the next generation of scientists, science educators, story-tellers and change-makers. We look forward to forging a future with our new Fellows that advances the Academy's mission to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaborative partnerships.”
Hammock, a member of the UC Davis faculty since 1980, was nominated by colleagues James R. Carey, UC Davis distinguished professor, and Robert E. Page Jr., UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor and emeritus provost of Arizona State University. The CAS Board of Trustees selects the Fellows.
Hammock discovered that regulating degradation of insect hormone mediators is as important as biosynthesis in development. He applied this toward the development of green chemical and the first recombinant viral pesticide. He asked if the same systems of metabolism of chemical mediators could be important in other species, notably man, resulting in the discovery of a new group of human chemical mediators. By inhibiting a key enzyme in this pathway, beneficial natural mediators increased there by showing benefit in treating multiple diseases including arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer's with the resulting drug candidates currently in human trials to treat pain.
Hammock co-discovered a human enzyme termed Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase (sEH), a key regulatory enzyme involved in the metabolism of fatty acids. It regulates a new class of natural chemical mediators, which in turn regulates inflammation, blood pressure and pain. Hammock and his lab have been involved in enzyme research for more than 50 years.
Hammock founded the Davis-based pharmaceutical company, EicOsis LLC, formed in 2011 to develop an orally active non-addictive drug for inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The former chief executive officer, he now serves on the board of directors.
He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and the National Academy of Sciences., and the Entomological Society of America. He is the recipient of scores of awards, including the first McGiff Memorial Awardee in Lipid Biochemistry; and the Bernard B. Brodie Award in Drug Metabolism, sponsored by the America Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. At UC Davis he received the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Faculty Research Lectureship. In 2020, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from UC Davis Chancellor Gary May.
Hammock has authored or co-authored more than 1,400 peer-reviewed publications and holds more than 95 patents in agriculture, environmental science and medicinal chemistry.
Hammock is known for his expertise in chemistry, toxicology, biochemistry and entomology. Early in his career, he founded the field of environmental immunoassay, using antibodies and biosensors to monitor food and environmental safety, and human exposure to pesticides. His groundbreaking research in insect physiology, toxicology led to his development of the first recombinant virus for insect control.
A native of Little Rock, Ark., Hammock received his bachelor's degree in entomology (with minors in zoology and chemistry) magna cum laude from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, in 1969. He received his doctorate in entomology-toxicology from UC Berkeley in 1973. Hammock served as a public health medical officer with the U.S. Army Academy of Health Science, San Antonio, and as a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation, Department of Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
In the Army, he served as a medical officer at Fort Sam, Houston, and what he saw--severely burned people in terrible pain--made a lasting impression on him and steered him toward helping humankind.
2023 Fellows. Among the new CAS Fellows is Beth Rose Middleton Manning, professor of Native American Studies and designated emphasis chair at UC Davis who also was supported by the NIEHS Superfund Program. She focuses on environmental policy, cultural site protection, and climate adaptation with Native nations and communities.
Other new Academy Fellows:
Peter Alagona, PhD
Professor, Environmental Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
Nicole Ardoin, PhD
Associate Professor, Social Sciences and Emmett Family Faculty Scholar
Stanford University
Junko Habu, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
University of California, Berkeley
Vanessa Handley, PhD
Director of Conservation Science and Global Conservation Consortium for Cycads Chair
University of California, Berkeley
Terry Jones, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
California Polytechnic State University
Marjorie Matocq, PhD
Foundation Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science
University of Nevada, Reno
Derrick Rossi, PhD
CEO, Convelo Therapeutic
CEO, New York Stem Cell Foundation
Partner, Castle Rock Entertainment
Harvard University
Robert Bullard, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy and Director of the
Bullard Center for Climate and Environmental Justice
Texas Southern University
Franck Marchis, PhD
Senior Planetary Astronomer
SETI Institute
Melissa Nelson, PhD
Professor of American Indian Studies
Arizona State University
Daniel Pauly, PhD
Professor of Fisheries
University of British Columbia
Aomawa Shields, PhD
Clare Boothe Luce Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy
University of California, Irvine
The list of UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty or former faculty who are Fellows:
UC Davis distinguished professors James R. Carey, Walter Leal (now with College of Biological Sciences) and Frank Zalom; distinguished professor emeritus Robert E Page Jr. (chair emeritus of the Department of Entomology and provost emeritus of Arizona State University; Professors Phil Ward and Neal Williams; and department affiliate Catherine Tauber (formerly of Cornell)
The late Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor, and Maurice Tauber (1931-2014, a UC Davis visiting professor/scientist and formerly of Cornell) also were CAS Fellows.
See more information about the CAS Fellows here.