Ticks make life hard for many of us – but as researchers in infectious diseases, we love being able to visualize them so closely! A fluorescent microscopic look into tick molecular components is a first step towards novel prevention strategies against Lyme disease!!

DNA is the blueprint of life - but environmental factors can affect how DNA is differentially expressed within individuals! Our new review from Trends in Genetics delves into the concept of epigenetics as it relates to ticks, vector biology, & Lyme disease: cell.com/trends/genetic…

Check out our new paper in Cellular Microbiology, where we investigate an important structure (and related protein) in the tick gut. The results of our study show some promising results that can hopefully be applied to novel Lyme disease interventions.

Very excited to share our preprint describing a CRISPRi platform for Borrelia burgdorferi. Project led by NickTakacs in fun collaboration with lab members, Jun Liu Lab and Patti Rosa. #LymeDisease #Lyme biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

EXCELLENT talk by Michal Tal, PhD on the involvement SIRPa & CD-47 cells in helping Borrelia Burgdorferi's evade the immune system. Must watch! 👇

Mice lacking PGLYRP1 had an increased B.b. "spirochete burden in the heart and joints, along with splenomegaly. Mice lacking PGLYRP1 also showed signs of immune dysregulation, including lower serum IgG levels and higher levels of IFNγ, CXCL9, and CXCL10." #LymeDisease

As biologists, we care deeply for all living things, and yearn for the wellbeing of species around the world. How refreshing it is to see how people have come together to protect threatened wildlife in their communities! cnn.com/2020/11/17/ame…

Some surprising new statistics about Lyme disease from CDC: Now there's an estimate of close to 500,000 new cases annually, in the US alone - much more than we thought before. Here's to hoping that our research can make a difference! wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27…

We are very excited that Cellular Microbiology is featuring our new article about tick biology & Lyme disease as the Editor’s Choice Article, and with a really cool image of the tick gut on the cover! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cm…

Our lab is hiring a new postdoc to work on drug discovery and vaccine projects. If you (or someone you know) is interested in this exciting work, please see this link for more information! nature.com/naturecareers/…

We are thrilled to announce the publication of a featured review from our lab. Check out our article in Trends in Immunology which highlights some truly fascinating aspects of tick-host associations.

Who doesn't love a striking immunofluorescence image? We're very proud that one of our tick images was selected by the editor of Trends in Immunology for the cover of their current issue! cell.com/trends/immunol…

Excited to share our discovery of a new twist in host-pathogen interactions, published today in Science Magazine! science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…

CIC bioGUNE BRTA - Basque Research and Technology Alliance researchers describe the presence of a tick #molecular receptor able to respond to signals from the host. 🔗 ow.ly/ZMNe50MoK75 Ikerbasque Utpal Pal Lab University of Minnesota Yale University Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering NIH #research #science

Parasitic ticks exploit host-derived interferon-γ through cross-species signaling to promote arthropod immunity and development, according to a new study in Science. scim.ag/1cb

🎉 OUT TODAY Nature Genetics 📰 A high-quality Ixodes scapularis genome advances tick science 👩🏿‍🤝‍👨🏼 @DeSandipDe Utpal Pal Lab and team 👇🏼 go.nature.com/3D0Psdv

A nice spotlight in Trends in Parasitology by @jutraslab and colleagues - thanks for bringing attention to this fascinating pathway!