Summer Internship Opportunity in Epidemiology and Ecology of Tick-borne Diseases
Lyme disease and anaplasmosis are zoonotic infections transmitted to humans by the
blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. In recent years, I. scapularis has rapidly spread from the
northwestern region of Wisconsin, eastward into the north-central and southeastern parts of the
state. Coinciding with the spread of the tick is an increasing incidence of human and domestic
animal Lyme disease and anaplasmosis cases. The alteration of natural landscapes by human
development may be partially to blame for expansion of the tick and these diseases.
For the past 3 summers, the emergence of Lyme disease has been studied in relation to lakeshore
development and restoration in Vilas County, Wisconsin, as part of a long-term project
conducted by researchers at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Tech.
Tick burdens and their infection prevalences on small mammals, the primary reservoir hosts for
the ticks and pathogens, are being compared along restored, developed, and undeveloped
lakeshore sites. As lakes in northern Wisconsin are highly utilized by humans for recreational
activities, this work will be important for understanding how changes in land use can affect small
mammals, ticks, and the disease risks to humans and domestic animals, and whether restoration
of lakeshore vegetation may provide protection against infections.
There is an opportunity for a student to help continue this research in the summer of 2014, as
part of the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation Summer Internship program. The opportunity
would involve spending approximately 5 weeks in Vilas County at the UW-Kemp field station,
trapping and handling live, small mammals and collecting ticks from them. The intern would be
expected to work well with other team members, under potentially hot, wet, and physically
demanding conditions in the field. An additional 5 weeks would be spent in Marshfield during
which time there would be opportunities to assist with tick identifications, the screening of ticks
for pathogens using real-time PCR assays, and/or analysis of human epidemiologic data using
GIS software, depending on the student’s interests.
Interested individuals should contact:
Dr. Anna Schotthoefer
Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation
715-389-3520
Schotthoefer.Anna@mcrf.mfldclin.edu
And plan to apply to the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation Summer Internship Program by
January 15, 2014:
http://tiny.cc/MCRF_SSRIP
Interns will be paid $10/hr and provided with housing.