All paid for BY WE THE PEOPLE, but nothing has happen for years for Lyme Disease awareness!!! BS

Recipient

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK

UEI: NPU8ULVAAS23

Locale: United States of America

Amount

$2,845,478.00

Awarded by

Department of Health and Human Services : National Institutes of Health

ASST_NON_R01AI154542_7529

Ends

2026-06-30

Description

MULTIVALENT TICK-MICROBE TARGETED LYME DISEASE VACCINES

Recipient

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM

UEI: PB3AJE5ZEJ59

Locale: United States of America

Amount

$2,500,000.00

Awarded by

Department of Agriculture : Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

ASST_NON_AP23WSER0000G002_12K3

Ends

2025-09-29

Description

THE PURPOSE OF THIS AWARD IS TO EXPAND TICK AND TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON EMERGING TICK SPECIES SUCH AS THE ASIAN LONGHORNED TICK AND THE LONE STAR TICK. THE PROJECT COMBINES ACTIVE FIELD SURVEILLANCE, RESEARCH, LONG-TERM MONITORING, PASSIVE…SURVEILLANCE, SERO-SURVEYS, AND OUTREACH. BY IMPROVING DATA COLLECTION AND UNDERSTANDING TICK POPULATIONS AND DISEASE DYNAMICS, THE PROJECT AIMS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT TICK-BORNE DISEASES AND PROTECT THE HEALTH OF HUMANS, DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK, PETS, AND WILDLIFE. THE GRANT WILL SUPPORT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE TICK LAB’S ESTABLISHMENT OF A COORDINATED SYSTEM OF TICK AND TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE AND RISK COMMUNICATION IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND TO ADDRESS THE STAGGERING GROWTH OF THE TICK POPULATION IN THE REGION. OBJECTIVES ARE, BUILDING UPON EXISTING PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES, DESIGN A COMPREHENSIVE, LONG-TERM TICK AND TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE PLAN TO ADDRESS REGIONAL PRIORITIES AND MEET THE SURVEILLANCE NEEDS OF MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDERS; INCORPORATE A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ONE HEALTH APPROACH TO TICK AND TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE IN MAINE; DEVELOP AND OPTIMIZE A NOVEL, COST-EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR STRAIN TYPING BORRELIA BURGDORFERI, THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF LYME DISEASE; AND ENHANCE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ON TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES. THIS PROJECT ESTABLISHES ENHANCED LONG-TERM TICK SURVEILLANCE INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION FOR A SYSTEMATIC AND COORDINATED APPROACH TO TICK AND TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE COLLECTION OF COMPREHENSIVE BASELINE DATA ON TICK DISTRIBUTION, TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN PREVALENCE, AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT CAN INFLUENCE THE ECOLOGY OF TICKS AND THEIR WILDLIFE HOSTS. THE IMPROVED SURVEILLANCE INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO DISEASE TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS AND ENABLES EARLY DETECTION OF CHANGES IN TICK POPULATIONS AND PATHOGEN PREVALENCE. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COLLABORATIVE ONE HEALTH APPROACH TO TICK AND PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE ALLOWS FOR AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED SYSTEM OF SURVEILLANCE THAT CAN AID IN RISK ASSESSMENT FOR COMMUNITIES AND ULTIMATELY AFFECT TICK-BORNE DISEASE OUTCOMES IN HUMANS, WILDLIFE, AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS. THOUGH THIS IS A ONE-YEAR PROJECT, THE RESULTING ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE INFRASTRUCTURE AND COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE VALUABLE DATA FOR YEARS TO COME, WILL LEVERAGE FUTURE INVESTMENT IN TICK AND TICK-BORNE PATHOGEN RESEARCH, SURVEILLANCE AND OUTREACH, AND SERVE AS A MODEL FOR THE EXPANSION OF SYSTEMATIC TICK SURVEILLANCE THROUGHOUT THE REGION. THE INTENDED BENEFICIARIES ARE THE CITIZENS OF MAINE AND NEIGHBORING STATES. SUBAWARDEE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTIC LAB WILL TEST TICK SAMPLES GENERATED AS A RESULT OF THIS PROJECT. ADDITIONALLY, A SUBAWARD WILL BE MADE TO THE MAINEHEALTH INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH TO COLLABORATE ON THE PROJECT, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO CONDUCTING SURVEILLANCE OF NON-NATIVE TICK SPECIES THAT ARE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND/OR VETERINARY CONCERN