20. Tick testing, active surveillance, and participatory science, with Dr. Vett Lloyd from Mount Allison University

This week, we are very excited to speak with one of Canada’s foremost tick and Lyme disease researchers, Dr. Vett Lloyd, who heads up a dynamic research team at Mount Allison University in Sackvillle, New Brunswick. Her curiosity, passion for community and collaboration and sense of humour have endeared her to her colleagues and her community. Dr. Lloyd starts a typical day in her lab where she is currently working on a community science initiative in which people send ticks they find on themselves or on pets or other animals. Her research team tests the ticks for various pathogens, a process which takes about two weeks. Another aspect of her research involves understanding where ticks can be found, and points out the role of climate change in tick distribution.