Graduate Exit Seminar - Ningzhu Bai

Plan to join Ningzhu Bai's graduate exit seminar on June 24, 2026, at 10:00 am at Heffner Building 108 or via Zoom. Ningzhu will present, "Investigating the Role of Avian Hosts in Tick-Borne Disease Dynamics: A Comprehensive Study of Tick Infestation Ecology and Reservoir Potential in Ohio Passerines (Order: Passeriformes)"

Abstract: Tick-borne diseases present significant public health challenges worldwide, affecting humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Birds, particularly passerine birds, can play important yet heterogeneous roles in the ecology and transmission of tick-borne pathogens by serving as hosts for multiple tick species, dispersing ticks and associated pathogens across the landscape, and potentially contributing to pathogen maintenance within local transmission cycles. However, the mechanisms underlying variation among avian host species in their contributions to tick-borne disease systems remain poorly understood. Integrating field ecology, pathogen surveillance, and quantitative modeling, my dissertation examined how heterogeneous passerine birds contribute to the maintenance and transmission dynamics of tick-borne pathogens in Ohio. Specifically, this work aimed to: 1) identify host intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with tick infestations on birds, 2) develop a standardized metric for assessing the engorgement level of host-derived ticks, 3) characterize fine-scale on-host infestation patterns and interactions among co-occurring tick species, 4) quantify the infection prevalence and distribution of tick-borne pathogens circulating within avian communities, and 5) evaluate the relative contributions of different avian host species to the maintenance and transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi through mechanistic modeling.

Advisor: Dr. Risa Pesapane