Student testimonial

Caroline Millins, PhD student

My PhD project uses various approaches to investigate the effect of wildlife communities on the ecology of Lyme disease. Over 100 bird, mammal and reptile species are hosts of the generalist tick Ixodes ricinus which transmits the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. A subset of these wildlife species, mainly passerine birds and rodents also act as reservoir hosts of this pathogen. A complex combination of host and environmental factors determine tick abundance and prevalence of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. We are using several approaches to identify these ecological drivers, including; a Scotland wide survey of forested sites and a more focal study around Loch Lomond, studies on the seasonal and long term dynamics of ticks parasitizing song birds, and the role of invasive grey squirrels in maintaining and altering local transmission cycles of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.

My background is as a veterinary surgeon with postgraduate specialisation in anatomic pathology, particularly in wildlife species. My goal is to complement this clinical expertise with research approaches to investigate the ecology of zoonotic diseases in wildlife reservoirs. I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to carry out my PhD research at the University of Glasgow and was attracted here by their reputation as a world leader in wildlife disease ecology and epidemiology research. This was recently recognised with the award of the Queens Anniversary Prize to the The Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health.