Andrea S. Bertke

About

Andrea S. Bertke, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms regulating herpes simplex virus (HSV) latency and reactivation, neuronal pathways by which HSV-1 and HSV-2 reach the central nervous system, and the role of the autonomic nervous system in HSV pathogenesis. She is also involved in the development of novel antivirals to prevent viral reactivation and studies the neurological impacts of SARS-CoV-2, including its survival on food and food surfaces. Dr. Bertke earned her PhD in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2007 and her BS in Microbiology from Bowling Green State University in 2001. Her professional experience includes positions as an Associate Professor and Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech, a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, and research roles at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Food and Drug Administration. She is a member of several professional societies, including the Society for Neuroscience, the American Society of Microbiology, and the American Society of Virology.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Biology
• Virology
• Pathology
• Neuroscience
• Immunology
• Food science

Selected publications

• Amyloid-β and p-Tau Anti-Threat Response to Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection in Primary Adult Murine Hippocampal Neurons

  Journal of Virology · 2020 · 82 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Growing evidence supports a link between HSV-1 infection and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although AD is clearly a complex multifactorial disorder, an infectious disease etiology provides alternative therapy opportunities for this devastating disease. Understanding the impact that HSV-1 has on mature neurons and the proteins most strongly associated with AD pathology may identify specific mechanisms that could be manipulated to prevent progression of neurodegeneration and dementia.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Zoonotic disease transmission associated with feral cats in a metropolitan area: A geospatial analysis

  Zoonoses and Public Health · 2018-02-08 · 49 citations

  article

  Feral cats raise public health concerns due to their large population numbers and ability to harbour pathogens that cause disease in people, pets, and wildlife. Information regarding the potential for feral cats to intersect with areas frequented by humans is lacking. This study examined the potential for feral cats and human territories to overlap in the Richmond metropolitan area of Central Virginia. Feral cats (n = 275) were trapped for monthly trap-neuter-release (TNR) clinics from July to N…

  PublisherDOI

• SARS-CoV-2 Remains Infectious on Refrigerated Deli Food, Meats, and Fresh Produce for up to 21 Days

  Foods · 2022 · 34 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been detected on foods and food packaging and the virus can infect oral cavity and intestinal cells, suggesting that infection could potentially occur following ingestion of virus-contaminated foods. To determine the relative risk of infection from different types of foods, we assessed survival of SARS-CoV-2 on refrigerated ready-to-eat deli items, fresh produce, and meats (including seafood). Deli items and meats with high protein, fat, and moistu…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Survival of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) on Foods Stored at Refrigerated Temperature

  Foods · 2021-05-04 · 31 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Outbreaks of coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) in meat processing plants and media reports of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection on foods have raised concerns of a public health risk from contaminated foods. We used herpes simplex virus 1, a non-Biosafety Level 3 (non-BSL3) enveloped virus, as a surrogate to develop and validate methods before assessing the survival of infectious SARS-CoV-2 on foods. Several food types, including chicken, seafood,…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessment of cognitive impairment in HSV-1 positive schizophrenia and bipolar patients: Systematic review and meta-analysis

  Schizophrenia Research · 2019-01-11 · 27 citations

  reviewSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Neuron Specific Regulation of HSV1 and HSV2 Outcomes of Infection

  NIH · $1.7M · 2018–2024

• NIH Grant K22AI097299

  NIH · $270k · 2016

Frequent coauthors

• Todd P. Margolis

  27 shared

• Mo Jia

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  17 shared

• Angela M. Ives

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  14 shared

• Telvin L. Harrell

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  12 shared

• Philip R. Krause

  12 shared

• Tina Taylor Dyches

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  10 shared

• Yumi Imai

  University of Iowa

  10 shared

• Jonathan D. Joyce

  Virginia Tech

  9 shared

Education

• PhD, Emerging Infectious Diseases

  Uniformed Services Univesity of the Health Sciences

  2007

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• Jennifer Barretth-31
• Orsolya Baloghh-16