URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2019_Melissa-McCarthy

The operation aims to assess the risk of the tick to the individual and help people prevent future encounters with ticks.

Can you spot the tick on this dog’s nose?

Whether he’s engaged in people’s backyard improving education efforts, or providing the necessary tools, resources, and knowledge to guard against ticks, Mather’s main goal is to help people by empowering them to grow from being “just wrong enough” thinkers to “just right enough.” “My wife sees me on the computer answering one email after another from the thousands of TickSpotters submissions coming in from all over North America, and she says, ‘Well, you’re saving people one at a time,’” says Mather. “I know it doesn’t seem very scalable, because we’re facing more ticks in more locations around the world. But I truly believe that what I’m doing and what we’re building is the right thing to do.”

Pets are also affected by tick bites and tickborne germs. People should check their pets and themselves after being outdoors.

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Spring 2019 | 15 |