News

Brittany Hammond, DO, has been chosen as the 2026 Todd Ouida Clinical Scholar. She was honored at the annual Todd Ouida Clinical Scholars Lecture on October 7 in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Hammond is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Michigan. She is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry. As a clinician, Dr. Hammond uses a holistic, evidence-based approach to treat children with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She focuses on using new technologies along with healthy habits like sleep, nutrition, movement, and time outdoors, to treat her patients. She helps patients and families through a "skills before pills" approach to wellness.

Her project, Leveraging AI to Support Family-Guided Treatment for Pediatric Anxiety and OCD, will study how thoughtfully designed artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help families practice useful skills between visits. The AI tools will aim to help children use therapeutic skills in everyday life without replacing the role of doctors and caregivers. The project will help patients and families understand how they can take an active role in recovery.

“I am deeply grateful for the support of the Todd Ouida Scholars Award and humbled by the opportunity to contribute to its mission of improving children’s mental health,” said Dr. Hammond. “As technology continues to evolve, my hope is to help children with anxiety and OCD and their families find balance, use technology in ways that support connection and growth, and feel empowered to take an active role in their own healing.”

In her research, she is interested in giving young people and their families practical tools to work together in recovery. Her goal is to support her patients' healing by reconnecting with nature, their bodies, and their sense of self.

"We are thrilled to announce Dr. Brittany Hammond as this year's Todd Ouida Clinical Scholar,” said Michelle Kees, PhD, chair of the award selection committee and faculty lead of the our Center’s Jenkins Family Outreach & Education team.  “Dr. Hammond has had an extraordinary start to her U-M career over the past few months, providing crucial clinical care for pediatric OCD and anxiety, and we look forward to her ongoing contributions to our community members.”

For more than twenty years, the Todd Ouida Clinical Scholars Award has supported U-M researchers studying childhood anxiety and depression. The annual lecture and award honors Todd Ouida, who overcame severe anxiety as a child, earned a psychology degree from the University of Michigan, and lost his life on September 11, 2001, while working at the World Trade Center.

“We are grateful to the Ouida family for being the spark that keeps us diligent in our quest to make a difference in children’s mental health and for being an inspiration to us all,” said Kees.