PROFESSOR SEES TICK RESEARCH AS WAY TO HELP INDIANA'S RESIDENTS
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ticks are hardly the topic of conversation at dinner parties. Rarely are such insects the main plot in an Academy Award winning movie. None have been given a major award from a nation's president.
But for Robert Pinger, a health and physiology science professor at Ball State University, ticks have consumed the majority of the last 17 years of his professional life.
Since 1982, the California native has transformed Ball State's Public Health Entomology Laboratory from a mosquito research facility into a nationally recognized operation known for its research and public education on ticks.
The continued presence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and the of emergence of Lyme disease in the state have compelled the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) to fund a tick-borne disease surveillance program.
"I originally went into mosquito research, as did most of the medical entomologists who were trained during the 1970s," said Pinger, director of the Ball State facility since 1977. "It really wasn't until the discovery of Lyme disease in the mid-1970s that some of us got into ticks. Lyme disease opened up a whole new arena for us.
"I went to a conference in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982 and a researcher presented a paper that kind of changed my thinking about our lab," he said. "At the time we were doing some mosquito-borne virus research, but we really couldn't pursue this research here on the first floor of the Cooper Science Building, a "high traffic area," without a lot of expensive biosafety equipment. But, we could do a great job on tick research."
Since the lab's transformation, Pinger has received continual funding from the ISDH to carry out his tick-borne disease surveillance program. This turned out to be a wise decision for both Pinger and the ISDH, because Indiana has seen increasing numbers of ticks because of the state's expanding deer population. Increases in numbers of ticks and more contact with people mean a greater chance of disease transmission.
Thousands of ticks have been sent to Pinger over the years from local health departments and individuals for testing. While most ticks are not infected, obviously, some are.
Pinger believes that his lab's research has played an important role in educating the public about vector-borne diseases.
"If you want to talk about AIDS, premature deaths, and drug problems then our work doesn't seem to be that important," he said. "However, if you put it into perspective, Lyme disease is the fastest growing communicable disease in this country over the last 10 years behind AIDS.
"The state health department's main emphasis is the health and well being of all the state's residents. We are valuable to that agency because the research we do complements the work they do."
Pinger's expertise goes well past simple research. Over the last two decades, he has played an important role in educating hundreds of medical personnel attending Ball State. His work was honored in 1998 when he received the Human Health Achievement Award for Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the 14th annual Tony and Mary Hulman Health Achievement Awards program in Indianapolis.
Pinger received the award for his research and testing programs in the state for the identification of disease-carrying mosquitoes and ticks.
Dale Hahn, chair of the physiology and health science department at Ball State, called his close friend and running partner one of the state's best researchers and educators.
"One of Bob's greatest strengths is that he doesn't limit his professional efforts to the laboratory," Hahn said. "He carries the results of his professional activities beyond the laboratory or field to the public. In the case of Lyme disease, he has produced valuable educational posters and pamphlets, distributing them throughout the state to professionals and the general public. And, he has trained many Ball State students in public health entomology."
As spring's warm weather brings the start of tick season, Pinger admits that he will be drawn out of the research lab and away from the classroom to help educate millions of Hoosiers about ticks and how to avoid becoming a Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever victim.
Reporters from newspapers, radio stations and television outlets around the state will call for the latest tick research produced by the lab. Dozens of stories will be written about Lyme disease, what clothing is tick resistant and how to properly remove ticks.
It won't be until early summer that Pinger will get away from his campus-based lab and into the field to collect specimens.
"We'll spend a week out at a state park doing tick drags," he said. "Sometimes I'll walk out of a field or the trees and just be covered with ticks. That's fun."
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Pinger at [email protected] or at (765) 285-1504. Ball State's Public Health/Entomology Lab web site is http://www.bsu.edu/csh/phs/phel.html
For more stories visit the Ball State University News Center at http://www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.) Marc Ransford 4/9/99
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