The Vector-borne Disease Lab is dedicated to the control of emerging tick & mosquito-borne diseases and translating our findings to the general public.

We seek to:

  • understand the environmental interactions of vectors, hosts, habitats, and climate

  • monitor the geography of risk

  • increase public awareness of the threat of tick and mosquito-borne diseases

  • advance research on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne diseases

Note: The Vector-borne Disease Laboratory conducts research on clinical and environmental aspects of tick transmitted infections. The lab is not a clinical practice site and does not provide individual medical advice or see patients.

Resources 

Submit My Tick for ID

Submit Your Tick for Identification

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension can identify your tick
Submit My Tick for ID

MHIR and the Lyme and Vector-borne Disease Laboratory are excited to announce the publication of Dr. Peter Rand’s memoir, Of Ticks and Islands.

Back in 1987, when the first wave of Lyme disease-infected deer ticks began invading Maine from the south, Peter Rand, with infectious disease specialist Dr. Robert Smith, Jr. and MMC researched Eleanor LaCombe established the Lyme Disease Research Laboratory at MHIR. Dr. Peter Rand was also a MHIR co-founder with a penchant for research and a love for the Maine coast. These led him to tackle the puzzle of Lyme disease, which had been first described only a decade earlier in Connecticut. As more and more people in New England were coming down with Lyme, it became imperative to understand the parasitic insects that spread it: the deer tick. As his first laboratory, Rand chose Monhegan Island.

Of Ticks and Islands is currently available in paperback and eBook via Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073X5R24C . Proceeds from sales will benefit the Vector-borne disease laboratory.

Lyme & Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory

81 Research Drive
Scarborough, Maine 04074