Haden Finchman, a junior from Berkeley Springs, West Virginia studying biology at West Virginia Wesleyan College, conducted research on tick biodiversity and Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme Disease pathogen, in North Central West Virginia during summer 2023. He worked alongside Dr. Melanie Sal and Dr. Kim Bjorgo, associate professors of biology and environmental science.

For their research, Finchman and the professors collected ticks from veterinarians and used a “tick flagging” technique. They also employed qPCR to detect B. burgdorferi infection in Ixodes scapularis, known as deer and blacklegged ticks.

In summer 2024, Finchman expanded his research and networking. In June 2024, he began research at the NIH Summer Internship Program, thanks to Sal introducing him to the program. Finchman joined the Adams Lab and was mentored by Julia Silberman. During his research, he used CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to knock down RNA-binding proteins in B. burgdorferi and developed models to investigate their function.

“I appreciate Dr. Sal who motivated me to take this opportunity and prepared me for this experience, Dr. Adams and Julia for teaching me and developing my confidence in research, and Don and Louise Krumm for hosting me with so much kindness and being so gracious to me over the duration of my research. I also thank the overall Wesleyan community for the ability to create opportunities and the Biology Department for supporting me through this journey!” Finchman said.

His research concluded with a poster presentation at Summer Poster Days. Finchman hopes to continue his research with Sal and attend another program in summer 2025.