Lea Hamner

Lea Hamner, MPH, is a public health epidemiologist based on Martha’s Vineyard specializing in tickborne diseases, Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS), and community-based public health systems. She earned her bachelor’s and Master of Public Health degrees from Yale University and has more than 10 years of experience in local public health epidemiology and disease prevention. Over the past three years, she has helped build regional epidemiology infrastructure across the Cape & Islands while serving as a trusted bridge between researchers, healthcare providers, public health agencies, and the community. The Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship has awarded Lea a 2026 Vision Fellowship award to support her role as a community-embedded partner in emerging clinical research efforts while continuing to serve as a public health epidemiologist on Martha’s Vineyard. Her project focuses on strengthening Island-based scientific and public health capacity to better understand and respond to emerging tickborne health threats affecting the community.