Welcome to the Pedra Lab

The Pedra laboratory integrates the disciplines of entomology, microbiology and immunology to understand tick-borne diseases. We use modern tools available in chemistry and biochemistry, genetics, molecular and structural biology to comprehend fundamental interactions between the arthropod vector, the pathogen and the mammalian host. Additionally, we emphasize the complexity of tick-borne diseases by performing systems biology analysis of bacterial transmission and acquisition during tick blood feeding. This reductionist-holistic approach is validated by a solid background in medical entomology. Tick-borne diseases are the most common vector-borne illnesses in the United States and western Europe. Therefore, the implications for our findings are globally important, and may serve as a paradigm for other arthropod vectors.