Ava M. Hammons
Senior Research Associate
ahammons4@kumc.edu

Ava M. Hammons is a Senior Research Associate in the Electron Microscopy (EM) Core at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she was promoted in February 2026. She supports structural biology and biochemical research with expertise in protein purification, cryo‑electron microscopy sample preparation and analysis, and quantitative data interpretation. Ava holds an M.S. in Bioinformatics with an emphasis in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a B.S. in Biological Chemistry, graduating summa cum laude. Her work includes cross‑disciplinary collaboration, training and mentoring of laboratory personnel, manuscript preparation, and oversight of laboratory operations, with a strong commitment to rigorous experimentation, reproducible research practices, and high‑impact scientific outcomes.

Bret Freudenthal, Ph.D.
Scientific Director of the KU Medical Center Cryo-EM Facility

Dr. Bret D. Freudenthal is an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He is a member of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and is affiliated with the Department of Cancer Biology. The overarching goal of his research is to understand the interplay between DNA damage and deleterious human health outcomes. The Freudenthal lab utilizes a reductionist approach consisting of structural, biochemical, cellular, and molecular biology assays to investigate complex biological questions. Dr. Freudenthal is an established member of the cryo-EM community and has successfully integrated cryo-EM into his research program over the past 5 years with the publication of several studies using cryo-EM to study DNA base excision repair. Dr. Freudenthal provides scientific and operational guidance to the cryo-EM facility as well as consultation for investigators looking to establish cryo-EM into their research program.