by Roy Parry, University of Georgia

At sunrise on Georgia’s coastal plain, Taylor Pearson crouches in tall grass, carefully removing ticks from a raccoon trapped the night before. Each collected specimen contributes to a broader effort to track pathogens that threaten wildlife, livestock and people across the state. Pearson, a doctoral candidate with the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia (UGA), studies tick species and the pathogens they carry.

In a state where warm temperatures and wooded landscapes create ideal conditions for ticks to thrive, UGA is mobilizing research, partnerships and community engagement to protect the health of Georgians. The effort is part of UGA’s One Health initiative, which is driven by the interconnection between the health of people, animals and the environment.

“The research we’re doing now will help raise public awareness about ticks and create a better future for Georgians,” says Pearson, who earned her undergraduate degrees from UGA.

Pearson works with Chris Cleveland, an associate professor in SCWDS who studies wildlife diseases and vectors, like ticks. When Cleveland wanted to engage with Georgia’s communities for his work, he turned to the Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty.

The workshop equips UGA faculty with the tools and partnerships needed to translate research into meaningful community impact, advancing UGA’s mission to serve the citizens of Georgia.

“The Rural Engagement Workshop reflects UGA’s land-grant and sea-grant commitment by putting research and expertise to work for Georgians,” says Stacy Jones, vice president for Public Service and Outreach. “By fostering partnerships across the state, we connect faculty projects to pressing local challenges.”

Building networks for a healthier Georgia

For Cleveland, who studies disease ecology, those partnerships are essential. Georgia’s climate allows ticks to remain active nearly year-round, spreading illnesses such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. At the same time, invasive species like the longhorned tick threaten cattle by transmitting parasites that cause anemia. First detected in Georgia in 2021, the pathogen recently caused its first clinical case in two Highland calves, underscoring the need for coordinated surveillance.

Cleveland’s team also includes College of Veterinary Medicine faculty Michael Yabsley and Ania Majewska, all part of SCWDS, which provides wildlife disease expertise to state and federal agencies. SCWDS has been conducting One Health-related research since it began in 1957.

Through the workshop, Cleveland and his team connected with personnel in the Archway Partnership and UGA Extension. Together, they launched a statewide survey in 2025 to learn how Georgians perceive and manage tick-related risks. An $8,000 seed grant supported the effort, which gathered nearly 600 responses from 121 of Georgia’s 159 counties.

The research findings will help identify regional differences and misconceptions about tick prevention. The data can inform education campaigns and strengthen prevention strategies tailored to Georgia’s diverse regions.

“UGA is building networks to make those connections,” Cleveland says. “There’s a rapport that people through Archway and Extension have with communities that we as faculty don’t when we first start out.”