March/April Faculty Spotlight
Published on April 1, 2025
Dr. Cara Hamann
Hometown: Eldridge, IA
Alma mater: University of Iowa, University of North Texas Health Science Center
Field(s) of research: Injury Epidemiology, Transportation Safety,
Vulnerable Road Users (pedestrians, bicycles, etc.), Global Injury Prevention
Topic or title of current project(s): Road safety, injury prevention. More specifically, working on projects related to adolescent bicycling safety, older driver safety, data integration, and increasing capacity for injury prevention research in Eastern Europe.
Quickfire Queries:
What are your interests and hobbies outside of the Department of Epidemiology?
Vegetable gardening, cooking, hiking, biking, reading, board games, going to estate sales.
What first sparked your interest in injury epidemiology and transportation safety?
When I was working on my MPH I had a job as a research assistant working on a study related to brief interventions for alcohol-related emergency department visits, which was my first introduction to the injury field.
If you had to explain your work to someone outside of public health, like a family member, how would you describe it?
I work on ways to prevent injuries, with a focus on prevention of road traffic crashes and related injuries.
If you could design a dream course, what would it cover and why?
Probably something related to spatial epidemiology where part of the course would be experiential (e.g., go to a location to collect data and then bring back to analyze OR analyze data and then to go location and to work on a public health issue related to findings)
What is something you are thankful for right now?
So much!– family, friends, fabulous colleagues, fellow scientists, my health.
If you didn’t have to worry about money and couldn’t pursue Epidemiology, what would your dream career be?
I’ve often thought that if I didn’t pursue epi I would probably have gone toward library science. But if we’re talking no bounds I would probably lean toward something like starting my own small business or writing novels or children’s books, while integrating world travel.
This or That?
| Regular Bikes | Electric Bikes |
| SAS | R |
| Bike Lanes | Bike Trails |
| A yard full of leaves | Having the ESA rake your leaves for you |
Her Research Soundtrack:
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