NEVBD-TEC Summer Internship Program

 The first trimester of my internship at Garrett County Health Department: Environmental Services has been very exciting and extremely insightful. On my first day I went to help give presentation to elementary school classes and learned how to sample. After that it was off to the races, going out every day and collecting ticks for testing. There were plenty of cool things to see that weren't just ticks as well, spiders, moths, butterflies, and a bunch of other bugs. With probably the coolest I found was a state endangered Baltimore Checkerspot. Which was a really, really cool sight to see. That being said that doesn't mean I was diverting time from finding ticks as well. With the two typical ticks for me to find being Ixodes scapularis and Dermacentor variabilis , those unfortunately weren't the only two species I found in the area. I had also found invasive Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian long-horned tick)   and more notably Amblyomma americanum  (the lone star tick). U...

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ve officially finished the first half of my internship with DNREC! The past few weeks have been packed with traveling across Delaware, collecting ticks, and identifying tick species. We even had an "arts and crafts" day where we made a tick bagel (an everything bagel with a few hidden ticks) and created resin ticks for outreach events to help show people just how tiny ticks really are.                                                         A photo of my team and me working on the resin ticks!        An example of our resin ticks!  I also spent time working with the mosquito crew, taking the Argo out into the marsh for mosquito surveillance and helping set up light traps. Over the course of one day, we visited fourteen different sites to place mosquito traps for...

I've just wrapped up my first three weeks interning with the St. Lawrence County Department of Health at SUNY Potsdam, working on mosquito-borne disease surveillance through NEVBD. I've settled into my role and everyday tasks quickly, and have picked up a variety of new skills over the past few weeks. My time so far has been split between mornings in the field, learning our mosquito surveillance methods, and afternoons in the lab, learning to ID and sort our captured specimens. We set and check several types of traps, each designed to capture mosquitoes engaged in a different behavior: CDC CO2 light traps, which use light and dry ice to attract host-seeking females overnight; gravid traps, which draw in egg-laying females with pans of stagnant water; and black resting boxes, which we check for mosquitoes sheltering after a blood meal. To collect from the resting boxes, we use aspirators, handheld vacuums, built for the job. A couple of photos of our aspirator and a gravid trap ...

 In my fourth week at the ABDL, I spent a lot of time gathering sources for my project and continued my draft. While doing research, I learned so much about tick-borne diseases and how factors like climate change and habitat modification are contributing to the expansion of tick populations into the Northeastern United States. I got to practice data analysis and use my research skills to further improve my project. In the fourth week, I also had lots of practice sorting the ticks | had collected previously from different sites. As I continue to work at the microscope, I feel increasingly confident in my abilities to identify ticks. We were also able to go to some beautiful sites on Long Island, and I got more experience out in the field flagging for ticks. I also got to attend an informational council meeting that discussed deer, ticks, prevention, and tick-borne diseases in Suffolk County. This was a great opportunity for learning about public health strategies in real time, which...

I can't believe three weeks have already passed; it's gone by so fast! For the past three weeks, I have been doing surveillance on Aedes Albopictus mosquitoes and various other tasks around the lab. During my first week, I was learning the ropes of setting up OVI-position and BG-GAT traps and the exact routes that I go to every Tuesday and Wednesday. Since Aedes Albopictus is attracted to tires, there are a lot of tire shops, often used tire shops, that are on the route. During my first week, I also learned how to make the solution that we use for the OVI-position at GAT traps, which includes hay, oak leaves, yeast, and lactalbumin (picture shown is setting up the solution before we head out on routes).  After my first week, I was able to start my Aedes Albopictus surveillance route solo. I was able to retrieve samples from the OVI position and GAT traps from all the sites and refill the traps with solution. I ran into a roadblock with one of the GAT traps having been broken w...

I finished my first two weeks at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)! I started the summer off strong with a lot of field work across the state of Delaware. Every two weeks, we rotate parks and drag for ticks for one kilometer, and then take the ticks back to the office for identification and data collection. We do this to monitor tick populations, their behavior, and their ecology across different areas as the year goes by. On top of tick dragging, we also work with many different wildlife biologists to collect ticks from different animals such as birds, foxes, and squirrels.  When I'm not in the field or lab, I am constantly learning from other experts and how we all work together. A great example of this was the Delaware One Health Conference, where I had the opportunity to listen to presentations on new research, technology, and public health topics. This conference really highlighted how interconnected we are and the importance of eff...