Muhlenberg athletes are spending the summer of 2024 enjoying fantastic experiences on campus, in their hometowns, across the country and even around the world. Rising junior field hockey player Erin DiSandro combined her biology major and public health minor in a summer research project.

This summer I spent six weeks on campus doing biology research with Dr. Edwards on Ixodes scapularis, better known as black-legged ticks or deer ticks! 

For the first two weeks, we hiked through 10 different field sites in the Lehigh Valley and collected ticks from each of these sites. Using a corduroy cloth that we dragged along the forest floor, we collected a total of 1,171 ticks across all 10 sites. Of those, 53 ticks from each site were sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to be tested for the presence of certain pathogens. 

A fun fact about ticks is that they like to reside on logs or rocky areas, so collecting these ticks requires walking (and often falling) on uneven, rocky terrain in the middle of the forest. Many of these collection sites were off the trails of popular hiking paths in the Lehigh Valley, so if you like to hike near Muhlenberg, it is important to check for ticks, especially in the late spring/early summer months when nymphal ticks are most active and have the highest potential for transmitting disease!

After our tick-collecting adventures were complete, the remaining weeks of my research were spent in the lab running tests on the tick DNA to determine which strain of Anaplasma (human vs. deer) each tick carried. Anaplasma is a tick-borne pathogen that can cause a disease called anaplasmosis. The human strain of Anaplasma is the only one that is a cause for concern in the public health world, so it is important to distinguish it from the deer strain when determining the prevalence of Anaplasma throughout Pennsylvania. 

Once all of the data was collected, we were able to analyze it and compare it to data from previous years since this is the 10th year of the study. After spending many hours working in Excel, we determined yearly and regional trends in the prevalence of Anaplasma-infected ticks in Pennsylvania. Using data from the state, we also analyzed trends for other pathogens, such as the one that causes Lyme Disease. The state can use this data to guide its public health interventions.

One thing I really loved about this research was its clear connection and importance to the world of public health. Ticks are immensely prevalent in the Northeast United States and tick-borne pathogens can have dangerous implications on one's health, so performing research in this field is beneficial for creating public health protective measures. As a public health minor on the pre-med track, I found this connection very interesting and it made doing this research immensely rewarding. 

I never thought that I would enjoy spending my summer with ticks, but this experience has provided me with great exposure to the intricacies of scientific research and I have learned so much about ticks, the pathogens they carry and the dangers they can impose on one's health. 

Doing something interesting or unusual this summer? Fill out this form to be included in our Summer Check-In series!