Amber Hammons, Professor and Department Chair in Child and Family Science

Office: FFS 203
Phone:  559-278-1158
Email:  ahammons@csufresno.edu 

Education: B.S. Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 
M.A. Psychology, University of California, Riverside, 
Ph.D. Psychology, University of California, Riverside

Experience and Research: Dr. Hammons' research interests involve the study of family interactions and health. Dr. Hammons is particularly interested in family and community factors that contribute to obesity and she takes a whole family approach in addressing these topics. Dr. Hammons is a co-principal investigator on a large-scale health promotion program for Latino families that aims to improve health through increased physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and family togetherness. She has been working with Latino families in the community since 2015 and over 100 local families have participated in the study. She is currently working with three other sites across the nation, and the University of Puerto Rico, to conduct a randomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of the health promotion curriculum. She is also a co-collaborator on a transdisciplinary obesity research sciences program, which is an national obesity curriculum designed for advanced undergraduates that includes content from leading obesity experts across the nation. Her current research focuses on the development and prevention of obesity in vulnerable populations and she has expanded her research to include college students. She is a co-chair of the University's Health Cohort and is working closely with the Fresno State Student Health and Counseling Center on Partnership for a Healthier America's Healthy Campus Initiative which includes the implementation of 23 guidelines to improve the health of the campus community in the areas of nutrition, physical activity, and programming over a three-year period.