Coastal Institute

Sukana Narasimhan, Yale University School of Medicine/Infectious Diseases
Jean Tsao, Michigan State University, Fisheries and Wildlife
Cynthia Lord, University of Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

Unlike inland populations, coastal populations of ticks in RI and Massachusetts have among the highest prevalence of infection in the Northeastern U.S.. Currently, our understanding of the impact of environmental conditions on the cycling of zoonotic Lyme disease is limited, making it difficult to predict infection prevalence across different ecosystems as well as societal risk for spillover into human populations. This work will improve our ability to predict and therefore manage LD in Rhode Island and other coastal environments, and falls within the mission of the Coastal Institute. Further, as part of the broader impacts of this work we are developing inclusive science communication to engage marginalized communities through educational science comics about ticks and Lyme disease. The Coastal Institute is an ideal partner to provide a network to communicate and disseminate findings to the public.