Topic Overview:

Hartman’s broad research interests center on understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of highly virulent RNA viruses, particularly those that present an emerging threat to global health. A major focus of her research program is on Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV), a virus that causes severe disease in livestock and humans in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. RVFV is a mosquito-borne virus that has the potential to emerge in developed countries and cause significant damage to the livestock industry, as well as human morbidity and mortality. RVFV is also a potential biological warfare agent due to its infectiousness through inhalation. Encephalitis caused by RVFV has been vastly understudied in the past due to the lack of suitable animal models. With funding from the Department of Defense (DoD), Hartman’s lab characterized the first rat and monkey models of neurological disease seen in some RVFV-infected humans. These animal models are the tools that are needed to understand the neuropathogenesis of this disease. 

The rat model of RVFV has recently been used to test the novel anti-influenza drug Favipiravir (Avigan or T-705) to determine its applicability to treat emerging viral diseases. The DoD is fast-tracking the preclinical testing of Favipiravir against a number of emerging diseases in addition to Rift Valley Fever, including Ebola and chikungunya virus. The work Hartman and her lab members have conducted thus far on Favipiravir and Rift Valley Fever contributes significantly to the body of knowledge on the broad-spectrum applicability of this novel drug.