Tina V. Hartert, MD

Tina Hartert, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Lulu H. Owen Endowed Chair in Medicine, Director of the Center for Asthma Research, and Assistant Vice President for Clinical Translational Science. She is an internationally recognized scientist and respiratory epidemiologist whose focus is in primary and secondary prevention of asthma and allergic diseases.

Asthma and allergic diseases are among the most common chronic diseases of both children and adults. Dr. Hartert firmly believes that the long-term solution to the asthma epidemic is primary and secondary disease prevention. Thus, the major scientific programs of the Center for Asthma Research are to identify causal risk factors for asthma, understand their mechanism of action, and develop and test primary and secondary prevention strategies for asthma and allergic diseases.  

The current areas of focus of the Center are on understanding the role of common and potentially modifiable factors on asthma development and control, including respiratory tract infections, dietary factors, and medication exposures and utilization. The Center is comprised of a group of highly collaborative and talented investigators, post-doctoral fellows, nurses, research assistants, and students who share a common goal to improve the health of people worldwide.

Dr. Hartert’s research contributions have been recognized by election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and the Association of American Physicians (AAP). She recently completed service as an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In addition, she has served as a member of a number of NIH expert panels, including the National Asthma Expert Panel, and as a standing member of NIH study sections. She has worked internationally and domestically with academic, clinical and industry partners, and has established one of the largest groups of birth cohorts for the study of asthma and allergic diseases in the world.

In 2015 Dr. Hartert was honored with the inaugural Vanderbilt award in research mentoring of clinical-translational scientists, and in 2019 she received the award for mentoring post-doctoral fellows.