Hayden Finchman, a native of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, and a third-year biology student at West Virginia Wesleyan University, will study tick biodiversity and Lyme disease pathogens in north-central West Virginia in the summer of 2023. Conducted research on Borrelia burgdorferi. He collaborated with Melanie Sall, Ph.D., and Kim Bjorgo, Ph.D., associate professor of biological and environmental sciences.
For the study, Finchman and the professors collected ticks from veterinarians and used a “tick flag” technique. They also used qPCR to detect B. burgdorferi infections in deer and Ixodes scapularis, also known as the black-footed tick.
In the summer of 2024, Finchman expanded his research and networking. Through Sal, I began research in June 2024 at the NIH Summer Internship Program. Finchman joined the Adams Institute and was mentored by Julia Silverman. During his research, he used CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to knock down RNA-binding proteins in B. burgdorferi and developed a model to investigate their function.
“Dr. Sal for motivating me to take this opportunity and preparing me for this experience, Dr. Adams and Dr. Julia for teaching me and developing my confidence in research, and for being so kind. I would like to thank Don and Louise Krumm for taking me in.”I am grateful to Don and Louise Krumm for their help during my research. I would also like to thank the entire Wesleyan community for creating opportunities and the Department of Biology for supporting me throughout this journey. ” Finchman said.
His research concluded with a poster presentation at Summer Poster Days. Finchman hopes to continue his research with Sal and participate in another program in the summer of 2025.
