Jessica Hartman, Ph.D.

I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The Hartman Lab focuses on the biochemical mechanisms underlying how lifestyle factors interact with environmental exposures to drive metabolic dysfunction and chronic disease. We have two major projects within this focus. In one project, currently funded by an R35 Early-Stage Investigator MIRA award from NIGMS, we are studying mitochondrial-targeted CYP2E1, a cytochrome P450 enzyme that metabolizes low molecular weight compounds including pollutants (styrene, 1,3-butadiene) and drugs (ethanol, acetaminophen). Often, the metabolites formed because of CYP2E1 metabolism are highly reactive and genotoxic, which is why it is critical to understand how CYP2E1 activity is regulated during non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progression and hepatocellular carcinoma. In our second project, funded by a K99/R00 award from NIEHS, we are studying how long-term diet and exercise impact mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolism, and chemical toxicity. Together with our collaborators, we have developed a long-term swimming exercise model in C. elegans that is an innovative new tool for identifying pathways that link exercise with chemical exposure effects.