Grace Reibel - VDH Weeks 4-6

Here's my update on Weeks 4–6 working at the Virginia Department of Health under the supervision of the Epidemiology team!

Week 4: Now that I have gotten the hang of conducting tick drags and have completed multiple drags on my own at the site I selected, I had the amazing opportunity to conduct a drag with the local health department's Epidemiology lead for the county where my site is located. The experience was incredibly informative because I was able to learn more about the relationship between the VDH and local health departments, as well as how responsibilities are divided between the two.

Week 5: While I have continued conducting tick drags, my mentor also set up informational sessions to teach us how to organize our data using R so our findings are easier to visualize and analyze. We also had the opportunity to meet with the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC) grant team to learn more about the grants that support the Virginia Department of Health's Epidemiology program.

Week 6: I have continued conducting tick drags at my site and have now started to notice a consistent pattern in the areas that tend to yield Lone Star versus Ixodes ticks. This week, I also had the opportunity to meet with a member of the Veterinary team within the Epidemiology department. I have several more informational meetings scheduled with professionals working in other areas of Epidemiology, which I am incredibly excited about!

A few of the ticks collected from drags


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