Scialog Fellow

I’m excited to be named as a Scialog Fellow for a 3-year assignment to mitigate zoonotic threats. This is something that I would not have been able to apply for pre-tenure (due to need to stay focused) but post-tenure, I can expand in new directions. I hope to be able to interact more with scientists at the USDA and foster collaborative efforts.

Fellows Selected for New Scialog: Mitigating Zoonotic Threats

We also have some very exciting publication news that I hope to be able to announce soon….

Our lab is growing....by 4 feet!

Lots of exciting news from our lab! We welcome two new students from different departments within the school of public health. They both have extensive experience in diverse background areas. We are excited for the unique perspective that they will bring to our projects.

Kaleigh Connors is a 1st year PhD student from IDM. She received her undergraduate degree from St. Petersburg College in Florida and her MS Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Disease in from George Washington University.

twitter: @sciencekaleigh

twitter: @sciencekaleigh

Justin Dutta is a 2nd year PhD student from the Human Genetics department within GSPH. Justin is a Pitt alum for undergrad (BS ‘15), and received his MPH from IDM in 2019. So Justin is not new to IDM but he is new to our lab!

twitter: @swimDUTTA

twitter: @swimDUTTA

A new era

As of April 1st, 2021, I will officially be an Associate Professor with tenure. Just writing that feels so weird and crazy and unlikely and exciting. I have some thoughts.

Hartman tenure Marc 2021.jpg
Luke+Lake.jpg
Lake moon.jpg
Family summer 2020.jpg

In the summer of 2007, when a job opportunity came up at Pitt in the newly formed CVR as Research Manager of the RBL, and I said to my husband “I want to move back to Pittsburgh.” He said ok. And we did it. I am forever thankful for this. Luke was only 9 months old.

I tell people all the time that I didn’t want to run my own lab and be a tenure-track faculty member. Why? I didn’t think I could do it. There weren’t very many examples of successful women faculty members with families (I am reminded of that saying: if you can’t see it, you can’t be it). I saw single, unmarried men come into this job and fail. If they failed, how could I possibly do it? My mind could not calculate it.

So I took an administrative job when I came back to Pitt. I am incredibly thankful for this opportunity that was presented to me. A lot of folks gave me a chance. I appreciate that more than can be expressed. I learned a lot with this new job, and it allowed me the ability to get my feet under me while my kids were young. Lots of stuff happened. Some good, some not good. Caroline was born in 2012. I kept going. I told myself that I’d keep going with this job until someone told me I couldn’t do it any longer, and then I’d figure something else out. So far, I’m still here.

Some combination of perseverance, working hard, and serendipity. Learning curve was and still is STEEP. Thankful for all those who tolerated my mistakes and helped me through it. You know who you are.

In addition to my husband, I have to thank my parents, my in-laws, our wonderful long-time nanny Martha, our kid’s preschool La Escuelita Arcoiris, and Falk Laboratory School - all of these loving family members and support people and institutions supported my family as I worked my way through. All of the conferences and meetings and grant review panels that my parents and in-laws helped with the kids. It truly DOES take a village. I love my village!

I’ve cried in my office on quite a few occasions.

All of my students and staff over the years - from Amy Caroline (my first MS student!) to my first staff members (Jacqui! Laura! Diana!) - thanks for helping me learn how to manage a research team. This is still a work in progress….Each and every one of them taught me something valuable. I remember them all.

I’m quite aware by this time of my strengths and weaknesses. I try to focus on improving the weaknesses, but its tough to teach an old dog new tricks.

Bottom line is that I like this job way more than I ever expected to. I didn’t think I’d love running a research lab. Its intimidating as hell. Writing grants and papers is (dare I say) kind of fun. I only wish I had more time to focus on those aspects and spend less time on paperwork and email.

Running a research program on emerging viruses during a global viral pandemic has been, well, interesting to say the least. 2020 seems like a blur - the March - July time period was the most intense time professionally and personally that I have ever experienced.

The Hartman Lab is in a great place right now. We have several exciting projects that are just getting started. I’m building the lab off of a great base that we’ve established the past few years. I am SO excited to see where these lead to. I have some awesome collaborators that are fun and fulfilling to work with. I want to keep working with good scientists and good human beings. Our new CVR leadership is taking us in a thrilling direction. The future is bright.

I hope to be able to get back in the lab more myself, even if its just to pipet liquids from one container to another. And even if I need to ask where everything is kept these days.

My kids are getting older now (Luke is starting high school in the fall - OMG) and life just feels different. Good different. Deep breath. Tears of joy.

Signs of spring

Its lambing season, so Cindy has been out collecting placenta from local farms. All hands on deck to process all of these fascinating organs!

image000000.jpg

Cindy and her little lamb

IMG_7937.jpg

Fresh sheep placenta

IMG_7929.jpg

Rotation student Justin Dutta helps out with the placenta processing

EEEV encephalitis

Our new manuscript is up online at PLOS Pathogens:

Albe, J.R., H.M. Ma, T.G. Gilliland, C.M. McMillen, C.L. Gardner, D.A. Boyles, E.L. Cottle, M.D. Dunn, J. Lundy, K.J. O’Malley, N. Salama, A.W. Walters, I. Vasile-Pandrea, T. Teichert, W.B. Klimstra, D.S. Reed, and A.L. Hartman. In press. Physiological and immunological changes in the brain associated with lethal eastern equine encephalitis virus in macaques. PLOS Pathogens. Accepted 1/12/21. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009308.

Albe+et+al+EEEV+figures+for+initial+submission+10.jpg

This figure shows the different subsets of immune cells present in the brains of EEEV-infected animals compared to controls (gray bars). Not that some cell types remain elevated in surviving animals (blue bars in panel B).

Take home message: The goal of a study like this is to better understand the pathophysiology of disease, so that these parameters can be used in vaccine and therapeutic as markers of efficacy. For instance, if we understand how brain waves, intracranial pressure, cytokines, and cell infiltration change as a result of disease, we can measure these parameters in treated/vaccinated animals. A reduction or amelioration of the changes can be used as a statistical measurement of efficacy. In this case, we were surprised to find residual viral RNA and immune cell infiltrate in the brains of surviving animals, because these animals seem otherwise healthy and we did not appreciate that EEEV may still be reaching the brain in survivors. Further studies will reveal whether EEEV actually penetrates the brain of survivors.

Here we go 2021

Here’s a sneak peek at the tremendous cytokine dysregulation in the brain of animals with lethal encephalitis.

Here’s a sneak peek at the tremendous cytokine dysregulation in the brain of animals with lethal encephalitis.

We have a new paper accepted in PLOS Pathogens on the pathogenesis of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV).

This is a culmination of several years of work with the Reed and Klimstra labs.

Title: Physiological and immunological changes in the brain associated with lethal eastern equine encephalitis virus in macaques

More to follow soon!

Manuscript accepted JGV

We have a new manuscript in press at Journal of General Virology!

Boyles, D.A., M.M. Schwarz, J.R. Albe, C.M. McMillen, K.J. O’Malley, D.S.Reed, and A.L. Hartman. In press. Development of Rift valley fever encephalitis in rats is mediated by early infection of olfactory epithelium and neuroinvasion across the cribiform plate. Journal of General Virology. Accepted 10/30/20.

Devin and Maddy are co-first authors. Check out the awesome figure of rat olfactory anatomy:

Illustration by @HaleyNordstrom

Illustration by @HaleyNordstrom