Dr Hammond is an Accredited Biomedical Scientist with a particular interest in microbiology. Dr Hammond was educated in Northern England where he grew up and attended the universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow to attain his Undergraduate and Masters Degrees. During this time Dr Hammond discovered his deep fascination with microorganisms generally and those that cause disease in particular. To further his ambitions and learning Dr Hammond applied to and was accepted by, the University of St Andrews Medical School as a PhD student in 2012.

In 2016 Dr Hammond graduated but had begun postdoctoral training prior to this. Also in 2016 Dr Hammond and colleagues won a Longitude Prize Discovery Award, and in 2018 the Scottish Life Science Innovation of the Year Award both for the novel SLIC technology. In the same year Dr Hammond and colleagues spun out their start-up company and Dr Hammond began work as an Industrial Research Fellow at the University.

In 2022 Dr Hammond began a new role as a Lecturer in the Division of Infection and Global Health but maintains an active research portfolio with PhD students from across disciplines and continents.