# New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · 2022 · $1,978,739

## Abstract

In New England, where the predominant vector-borne disease (VBD) burden is due to ticks, tick control and
suppression practices can barely keep up with regional endemicity conditions, despite the fact that New England
has a long history with ticks. With just 4.5% of the U.S. population, New England accounts for 20% of confirmed
Lyme disease cases in the U.S. This project proposes a New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne
Diseases (NEWVEC) to make significant progress in combatting ticks and other arthropod disease vectors in
the six New England states through applied research and technical evaluation of methods to prevent vector
bites, suppress disease-causing vectors, and promote public adoption of vector-control measures. To sustain
and amplify this public health imperative, NEWVEC will train students to enter the public health entomology
workforce to address VBD, and will engage stakeholders through a community of practice that can help its
research and training efforts remain relevant, effective, and impactful. The NEWVEC strategy has three
components: Applied research on tick suppression, Training of public health entomologists with expertise in
vector-borne diseases, and Community of Practice to enhance regional effectiveness of evidence-based
methods. Applied research projects will follow four parallel streams: 1) Standardizing and optimizing personal
protection and control products and applications for commercial and residential use; 2) Discovering and
evaluating emerging technologies to suppress ticks and prevent tick biting; 3) Designing and testing habitat and
host-targeted interventions for suppressing tick populations; and 4) Assessing human factors and public health
approaches for tick control. Work in these areas will be conducted by researchers at six New England
universities, supported by two core facilities: a Molecular Analysis lab for pathogen testing and taxonomic bar-
coding at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA), and a Tick rearing and experimental test bed at the
University of Rhode Island. A multi-tiered training program in Public Health Entomology based at UMA will
develop concentrations and certificate programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to train highly
competent graduates for employment in the field, while providing a range of high-quality professional
development training experiences for public health professional staff and technical employees of commercial
applicator firms around New England. NEWVEC’s Community of Practice will promote extra-academic
collaboration in its research, promoting two-way transmission of vital knowledge among the center’s researchers,
its students and trainees, the public health stakeholder community, and others concerned with vector-borne
disease prevention in New England. NEWVEC will concentrate on the most important New England vectors,
most challenging barriers to VBD progress, and most promising and impactful vector control interventions and
method...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10552156
- **Project number:** 1U01CK000661-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN M RICH
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,978,739
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10552156

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10552156, New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (1U01CK000661-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10552156. Licensed CC0.

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