Tick-borne diseases are increasing in Missouri, the result of a growing number of pathogens being found here.
Robert E. Thach, PhD, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, will discuss his research on this significant public health hazard for the annual Phi Beta Kappa Lecture of the Assembly Series.
His talk, “An Emerging Tick-borne Disease in the Central United States: Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis," will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, in Graham Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.
In recent years, Thach’s chief area of study has been the ecology and epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, specifically ehrlichiosis, southern tick-associated rash illness, tularemia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
A vector-borne disease is one in which the pathogenic microorganism is transmitted from an infected individual to another individual by an arthropod or other agent, sometimes with other animals serving as intermediary hosts.
Thach joined the university in 1970 in biological chemistry at the School of Medicine. He joined the biology department in 1977 and served as the dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences from 1993-2008.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Princeton University and master’s and doctorate degrees at Harvard University.
