Beginning her career in 1997, Dr. Valeria Paula Martinez dedicated her initial research to emerging infectious diseases caused by viruses. Her early work involved the development and implementation of diagnostic tools for the identification of several emerging viruses in Argentina, including Hantavirus, Arenavirus, Dengue virus, and Yellow Fever virus. Progressing in her research, Dr. Martinez focused on Hantavirus, investigating rodent reservoir ecology, viral diversity, phylogeny, and the epidemiology of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. This included a focus on identifying person-to-person transmission events and outbreaks. She also contributed to pathogenic studies of hantaviruses, utilizing animal models within high biosecurity laboratories. For the past eight years, her research has actively explored the intricacies of human immune responses in Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome patients, with a specific emphasis on adaptive immunity involving B and T lymphocytes.Dr. Martinez is a member of the Argentine Society for Microbiology and the Argentine Society for Immunology, and in 2024 she was appointed to the Council of the International Society for Hantavirus. She has participated in numerous national and international conferences as a speaker, panelist, and research collaborator.

She has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific articles in leading journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, mSphere, and EBioMedicine. Her recent publications explore the genetic diversity of orthohantaviruses, the identification of novel viral strains in Argentina, and predictive models for outbreak risk based on ecological and climatic data.

Through her interdisciplinary expertise and dedication to public health, Dr. Martinez plays a key role in the global effort to monitor, understand, and respond to emerging zoonotic threats.

Dr. Valeria Paula Martinez