Biography

Hans Hammers, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of the Division of Hematology and Oncology. He is the inaugural Eugene P. Frenkel, M.D. Scholar in Clinical Medicine.

Originally from Germany, Dr. Hammers received his medical and doctoral degrees from the Medical University of Luebeck. He completed his internal medicine residency training at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore and received advanced training through a fellowship program in medical oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University.

At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Hammers led the kidney cancer research efforts and played a major role in the development of immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors in kidney cancer. His work in immunotherapy has been nationally recognized, and he has been the principal investigator on several industry- and investigator-sponsored trials.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in medical oncology, Dr. Hammers joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2016.

Dr. Hammers is the Co-Leader of Clinical Research and Immunotherapy for the Kidney Cancer Research Program and is using his research efforts to develop novel immunotherapies for kidney cancer.

Dr. Hammers is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

Education

Medical School
Medizinische Hochschule Luebeck, Germany (1999)
Residency
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (2005), Internal Medicine
Fellowship
Johns Hopkins University (2009), Medical Oncology

Research Interest

  • Clinical and Translational Research
  • Immunotherapy
  • Kidney Cancer
  • Tumor Microenvironment

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Immunotherapy in kidney cancer: the past, present, and future.
Hammers H Curr Opin Urol 2016 Aug
Cabozantinib versus everolimus in advanced renal cell carcinoma (METEOR): final results from a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.
Choueiri TK, Escudier B, Powles T, Tannir NM, Mainwaring PN, Rini BI, Hammers HJ, Donskov F, Roth BJ, Peltola K, Lee JL, Heng DY, Schmidinger M, Agarwal N, Sternberg CN, McDermott DF, Aftab DT, Hessel C, Scheffold C, Schwab G, Hutson TE, Pal S, Motzer RJ Lancet Oncol. 2016 Jun
Safety and Efficacy of Nivolumab in Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated Beyond Progression: A Subgroup Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.
George S, Motzer RJ, Hammers HJ, Redman BG, Kuzel TM, Tykodi SS, Plimack ER, Jiang J, Waxman IM, Rini BI JAMA Oncol 2016 May
Safety and clinical activity of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)- tyrosine kinase inhibitors after programmed cell death 1 inhibitor treatment in patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Nadal R, Amin A, Geynisman DM, Voss MH, Weinstock M, Doyle J, Zhang Z, Viudez A, Plimack ER, McDermott DF, Motzer R, Rini B, Hammers HJ Ann. Oncol. 2016 Apr
Cabozantinib versus Everolimus in Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma.
Choueiri TK, Escudier B, Powles T, Mainwaring PN, Rini BI, Donskov F, Hammers H, Hutson TE, Lee JL, Peltola K, Roth BJ, Bjarnason GA, Géczi L, Keam B, Maroto P, Heng DY, Schmidinger M, Kantoff PW, Borgman-Hagey A, Hessel C, Scheffold C, Schwab GM, Tannir NM, Motzer RJ N. Engl. J. Med. 2015 Nov 373 19 1814-23
Nivolumab versus Everolimus in Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma.
Motzer RJ, Escudier B, McDermott DF, George S, Hammers HJ, Srinivas S, Tykodi SS, Sosman JA, Procopio G, Plimack ER, Castellano D, Choueiri TK, Gurney H, Donskov F, Bono P, Wagstaff J, Gauler TC, Ueda T, Tomita Y, Schutz FA, Kollmannsberger C, Larkin J, Ravaud A, Simon JS, Xu LA, Waxman IM, Sharma P N. Engl. J. Med. 2015 Nov 373 19 1803-13
Antagonists of PD-1 and PD-L1 in Cancer Treatment.
Lipson EJ, Forde PM, Hammers HJ, Emens LA, Taube JM, Topalian SL Semin. Oncol. 2015 Aug 42 4 587-600
Survival, Durable Response, and Long-Term Safety in Patients With Previously Treated Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Receiving Nivolumab.
McDermott DF, Drake CG, Sznol M, Choueiri TK, Powderly JD, Smith DC, Brahmer JR, Carvajal RD, Hammers HJ, Puzanov I, Hodi FS, Kluger HM, Topalian SL, Pardoll DM, Wigginton JM, Kollia GD, Gupta A, McDonald D, Sankar V, Sosman JA, Atkins MB J. Clin. Oncol. 2015 Jun 33 18 2013-20
Nivolumab for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Results of a Randomized Phase II Trial.
Motzer RJ, Rini BI, McDermott DF, Redman BG, Kuzel TM, Harrison MR, Vaishampayan UN, Drabkin HA, George S, Logan TF, Margolin KA, Plimack ER, Lambert AM, Waxman IM, Hammers HJ J. Clin. Oncol. 2015 May 33 13 1430-7
Screening assay for blood vessel maturation inhibitors.
Fu C, van der Zwan A, Gerber S, Van Den Berg S, No E, Wang WC, Sheibani N, Carducci MA, Kachhap S, Hammers HJ Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2013 Aug 438 2 364-9

Honors & Awards

  • Eugene P. Frenkel Scholar Award
    UT Southwestern (2016)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Association for Cancer Research (2005)
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (2009)
  • Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (2015)