Today, I was in and out of a few meetings but my most interesting one was with Dr. Barbarin, an entomologist in the Division of Public Health. She focuses on tick-borne diseases like Lyme while her colleague specializes in mosquito-transmitted viruses like Zika. She taught me about the importance of education about tick-borne diseases, specifically how to prevent them with appropriate bug sprays as well as where they occur most. The Asian longhorned tick, pictured above, has been of specific interest lately due to its ability to transmit diseases. In addition, Dr. Barbarin taught me more about the migration of ticks and how diseases like Lyme disease are slowly making their way from Lyme, Connecticut to more southern states and are increasing in prevalence in western North Carolina. Dr. Barbarin even let me view a Lone Star tick under her microscope!