TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES OF THE CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS

This NSF EPSCoR-fuinded project (OIA-1920946) represents a broad collaboration among universities of the central Great Plains: University of Kansas, Oklahoma State University, Pittsburg State University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Central Oklahoma. The researchers involved range from tick specialists and mathematical modelers to biogeographers, remote-sensing specialists, and pathogen biologists. The project takes diverse approaches to understanding and illuminating risk of tick-borne disease in the region, including field sampling and laboratory testing of ticks for pathogens, ecological niche modeling, detailed mapping from satellite and climate data, and mathematical population biology models. A few images of the project teams at work are below...