Emily Bache

I earned my MS from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health in April 2024. I completed my master’s thesis under Dr. Danielle M. Tufts, where I investigated the abundance and distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti in small mammal hosts across southwestern Pennsylvania. During my time in the Tufts Lab, I participated in summer fieldwork, including tick collection across multiple sites in southwestern Pennsylvania and small mammal trapping. I also gained extensive laboratory experience in tick identification, pathogen screening, and studying the vertical transmission of Babesia microti in mouse models.

I am currently pursuing my PhD under Dr. Tufts, where my research focuses on evaluating host-targeted tick control methods to reduce questing Ixodes scapularis populations, decrease tick burdens on wildlife hosts, and limit the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in both hosts and ticks across public and private lands.

My research interests include disease ecology, vector-borne and tick-borne diseases, host–pathogen interactions, zoonotic disease dynamics, and applied strategies for vector control and disease prevention.