Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

April 3, 2009
Tick Borne Disease Prevention
Amount Requested: $1 million 
Estimates suggest that human tick-borne disease, such as Lyme disease, costs the U.S. nearly $1 billion annually in testing, treatment, prevention and other costs brought on by disability and death.  This funding will allow the URI Center for Vector-Borne Disease to continue efforts to link additional academic and governmental partners into a dynamic research and training infrastructure focused on using modern molecular biology techniques to advance tick-transmitted disease diagnostics and development of anti-tick borne disease vaccines. URI’s proposed model will help find long-term solutions to the tick problem in Rhode Island and beyond. The results of this research and outreach activity will provide insight into health information delivery, risk communication and disease prevention on a national and international scale, and serve as a model for other afflicted municipalities.
  Recipient's address: University of Rhode Island 231 Woodward Hall, Kingston, RI 02881