Public Forum on Ticks and Tick-borne Disease: Preventing Lyme and other Tick-borne Disease
- Monday, May 20, 2019, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
This evening presentation will provide an overview of the hazards and risks associated with human biting ticks in language that is understandable to the general public. The risk of Lyme and other diseases has increased since the first reports in the 1970s. With that expansion, the list of germs transmitted by these ticks has grown long, but there are ways of significantly reducing exposures to these hazards. The key to staying safe and healthy is to understand a few fundamental aspects of the biology and ecology of these dangerous bugs. Dr. Rich will explain the biology of these hazards and describe appropriate personal protection measures that can greatly reduce risk. This is an open public forum with ample opportunity for questions from the audience.
Dr. Stephen M. Rich
Professor of Microbiology, and
Director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Brief Bio
Dr. Stephen Rich was born in Watertown, NY, attended Immaculate Heart Central High School and earned a B.S. in Biology at St. Lawrence University. He went on to post-graduate study at the University of Vermont (M.S.) and Harvard University, and earned a PhD at the University of California (Irvine). He established his lab and joined the faculty in the Division of Infectious Disease at Tufts University in 1999, and moved to the University of Massachusetts in 2005, where he is now a Professor of Microbiology and Director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology. He has more than 50 publications on disease causing microbes transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes. He has received numerous awards for his research accomplishments including the Pfizer Research Excellence Award (Pfizer Corp.), the William Procter Award (Sigma Xi), the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Award (Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.), and the Crowell Research Scholarship (St. Lawrence University). His work includes findings on the origins of human malaria and novel treatments for that deadly disease. He is also recognized as an authority on ticks and tick-borne disease, including Lyme disease. His laboratory has revolutionized tick-borne disease surveillance and risk assessment with the crowd-sourced Tick Report testing program.
Fee
Free Event
Location
2043B State Highway 68
Canton, NY 13617
Last updated May 16, 2019