Muhlenberg athletes are spending the summer of 2025 enjoying fantastic experiences on campus, in their hometowns, and across the country.

Rising senior softball player Maddy Svenningsen, a biology major, worked in local forests doing research on ticks.

Over the past eight weeks, I have been on campus participating in Dr. Marten Edwards' research on black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis). Black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are very common in Pennsylvania. Our research specifically focuses on their prevalence and the pathogens they carry.

We traveled to 10 different sites in the Lehigh Valley, which are all public areas frequently used for hiking. At each of these field sites, we collected ticks through a method called a "tick drag." We used a large white corduroy cloth, which we dragged along the forest floor where many ticks reside. The cloth being dragged along the forest floor simulates an animal, and the ticks grasp on to the cloth. After walking around 15 feet, we examine the cloth for ticks and collect them. We repeat this process until we collect at least 53 ticks at each site.

After collection, we send 53 ticks from each site to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP). They test these ticks for pathogens including the ones that cause Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis in humans. The PA DEP sends DNA extracted from each tick that tested positive for the Anaplasma bacteria to our lab at Muhlenberg, and we are tasked with determining which variant of the bacteria the ticks carry (deer vs. human). This data is significant because only the human variant of Anaplasma can make people sick, which is very important from a public health perspective.

As a biology major at Muhlenberg, I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to participate in research. I have taken a course at Muhlenberg called Vector Biology, which focuses on organisms that transmit diseases to other organisms, like a tick or mosquito. Research has allowed me to further my knowledge in this area of biology. This upcoming fall semester, I will be student teaching. I hope to bring my knowledge I have learned during this experience into the classroom!

Most importantly, this research has highlighted the importance of tick bite prevention! Summer is a time to enjoy the outdoors, but it is good to be aware of the potential dangers. If you do go exploring the outdoors, make sure to always check your body for ticks after! If you take precautions necessary to prevent tick bites, you can enjoy the beautiful forests of the Northeast as much as I did during this experience! 

Doing something interesting this summer? Fill out this form to be included in our Summer Check-In series!