Sam R. Telford III | ScD, MS, BA

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• Professor

Education

• ScD, Harvard University, 1990
• MS, Harvard University, 1987
• BA, The Johns Hopkins University, 1983

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Research Activities

General Research

• Biology, epidemiology, and prevention of tick-transmitted zoonoses (Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Powassan/deer tick virus, Borrelia miyamotoi disease, tularemia)
• Parasitology (clinical/tropical medicine; wildlife)
• Epidemiology and prevention of mosquito-transmitted infections
• Biosafety and biodefense

Selected Research Projects

• Epidemiology of Powassan virus: why is encephalitis so rare when the virus is common in ticks throughout New England?
• Ecology of deer tick-transmitted infections:  relative contribution of vertebrate hosts to the basic reproduction number of Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia microti, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia miyamotoi, and deer tick virus
• Nontarget effects of anti-mosquito interventions:  dynamic response of arthropods to sporadic mortality events
• Epidemiology of human babesiosis:  basis for increased risk of Babesia microti babesiosis
• Mice Against Ticks (MIT): population biology of Borrelia burgdorferi transmission

Research and Clinical Interests

• Diagnostic support for clinicians who wish to rule out vector-borne infection
• Incriminating etiologic agents (Koch’s postulates)
• Measuring the public health burden of vector-borne infections

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Additional Information

• Member, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Entomological Society of America; American Society for Microbiology
• Associate/Reviewing Editor/Editorial Board: PLoS One; Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases; Acta Tropica; Applied and Environmental Microbiology
• Commissioner, Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project
• Member, Mosquito Advisory Group, Massachusetts State Reclamation Board/Department of Public Health