Research Entomologist USDA-ARS Pullman, Washington
To address rising vector-borne disease (VBD) cases in the US, Extension programs can be involved in multiple facets of VBD prevention: research, information translation, and community engagement. As an entomology expert for the interdisciplinary VBD Extension team in Penn State Extension, I develop and deliver various science-based products for our stakeholders. These efforts tie into my research agenda, which focuses on the relationships between arthropod vectors and their animal hosts as well as the role of human behavior and perception in VBD prevention. To emphasize the relationship between research and Extension, I collaborate with various Extension teams on cross-cutting research to protect diverse communities from VBDs. This includes the VBD team to learn about stakeholder VBD prevention behaviors; the forestry and wildlife team to investigate deer keds as pathogen vectors and the effects of repellents on deer keds and deer behavior; the equine team to study permethrin safety and efficacy against ticks on horses; and the Bed Bug Task Force to research surveillance tools for bed bugs in poultry facilities. Ultimately, the results from these projects will influence how we implement VBD prevention recommendations for our stakeholders. This presentation will summarize research conducted with these Extension teams and how I translated our results into impactful products for stakeholders. The goal of my work is to empower Extension programs to address VBDs and ensure that communities are protected against VBDs. By collaborating across different Extension teams and leveraging our expertise, we can create a truly “One Health” perspective to VBDs.
