Research and Education

The Institute's tickborne disease research will focus on four distinct areas: vector/tick biology, epidemiology, microbiology, and immune defense.  Overarching goals include:

• ​​​​​Build  state-of-the-art BSL2/BSL3 facilities (aka the "tickery") to study ticks and tickborne diseases
• Develop improved in vivo and in vitro models for studying Lyme and other tickborne diseases
• Conduct research  & develop strategies for assessment of risk of tickborne diseases to public health and mitigation
• Conduct research on tickborne diseases immunity, immune evasion and host-pathogen interaction
• Conduct research on ticks, the pathogen they carry and the diseases they cause (recruit investigators)

LTBDI's education component will focus on both outreach and education.  Our goals are to:

• Train the next generation of tickborne diseases researchers and scholars
• Educate public health experts about the importance of tickborne diseases
• Inform lawmakers about tickborne diseases and support  public health policy development on tickborne disease
• Conduct community outreach to educate about tickborne diseases