Dr. Tarbet received his Ph.D. degree in Animal Science from the University of Delaware, with specialization in pathology (pathogenesis of infectious disease). His M.S. degree in Microbiology and Immunology was completed at the Louisiana State University Medical Center, and his undergraduate work in microbiology was done at Weber State University. He joined the Institute for Antiviral Research in the Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences at Utah State University in 2008. Prior to joining USU, Dr. Tarbet was employed in the Research and Development department at Intervet Inc. (now Intervet Schering-Plough Animal Health), a global leader in the discovery, development, and manufacture of veterinary medicines. During the twelve years that he worked at Intervet he completed proprietary research in the area of vaccine development. Vaccine projects for which he was responsible included:
- Feline leukemia virus (killed-virus vaccine)
- Feline Bordetella bronchiseptica (live-attenuated bacterin)
- Equine West Nile Virus (recombinant [live-chimera] vaccine)
- Equine influenza virus (killed-virus and live-attenuated vaccines)
- Canine influenza virus (killed-virus vaccine)
Research interests include: virology, immunology, and antiviral chemotherapy. Current research includes in vitro antiviral testing against influenza and adenoviruses, evaluation of experimental therapies for influenza and orthopoxvirus infections in mice, and evaluations of vaccines for use against influenza virus.
