SUNY Upstate Medical University and SUNY-ESF plan to open a lab next year to study the spread of tick-borne illnesses in New York state.

The partnership between the two institutions comes as the spread of deer ticks throughout the state has contributed to a rise in Lyme disease, including in central New York. Syracuse’s Common Council recently took up the issue, approving a plan in June to hire hunters to kill and remove deer in the city.

The new Vector Biology Lab will focus on the role of vectors in transmitting disease to humans. A vector is any organism that can spread pathogens to or between hosts. The lab will focus on ticks, which are known for spreading diseases like Lyme and the less-common Powassan virus.

Saravanan Thangamani, a professor of microbiology and immunology at SUNY Upstate, will lead the lab with a team of researchers. Thangamani and his team relocated from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to take on the project.

“We are trying to understand how the (ticks’) feeding facilitates the transmission of viruses,” Thangamani said. “If we can understand the mechanism behind this feeding process, we can develop novel measures to stop the transmission.”

Thangamani’s research focuses on the Powassan virus — an untreatable, little-studied virus that has recently been on the rise in New York state. When opened, the Vector Biology Lab will become the second facility in upstate New York capable of testing for the virus, he said. The first lab, Arbovirus Lab, is located at SUNY Albany.

The Vector Biology Lab will be equipped with security measures appropriate for handling pathogens like Lyme and Powassan in ticks and the West Nile virus in mosquitoes. The lab is classified at biosafety level three. Level four, the highest biosafety level, is reserved for highly contagious and lethal pathogens, such as the Ebola or Zika viruses.

The researchers will use the lab’s first biosafety level to cultivate colonies of ticks, mosquitoes and other vectors. The second and third levels will be used for studying the diseases themselves. Thangamani said a highly-secured lab is crucial to work with pathogens like Lyme and Powassan.

At approximately 2,500 square feet, the lab will cost $6 million dollars and will be funded by a grant from the SUNY system. SUNY Upstate aims to hire two more research teams to staff the lab, which is slated to open in spring 2020.

The exact reason for the increase in tick-borne illnesses is a contentious subject within the scientific community. Thangamani cited a combination of potential ecological factors — climate change, human behavior, migration of tick-bearing animals, weather patterns and mutations of the diseases themselves.

“Lyme disease is on the minds of many people across the county, especially in central New York,” said Darryl Geddes, director of external relations for SUNY Upstate. “To be able to have a facility here, where we’re going to be unlocking some of the mysteries of Lyme disease, is significant, especially when we’re partnered with another SUNY institute.”

To protect against ticks, the Onondaga County Department of Health advises wearing long, light-colored clothing while in wooded areas or parks, consistently applying bug repellant, walking in the center of trails and performing full-body checks upon returning from a hike.

“The most basic thing is to be aware and act to protect yourself (from ticks) whenever you go outside,” said Quoc Nguyen, the medical director of the Onondaga Country Department of Health.

Published on August 28, 2019 at 11:07 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu