SWAGÊÓƵ Planetary Health Council hosts alum Charles Lubelczyk for “Tick Talkâ€

Charles Lubelczyk, M.P.H. '13, gives the inaugural presentation of "Tick Talk," hosted by SWAGÊÓƵ's Planetary Health Council.
Charles Lubelczyk, M.P.H. '13, gives the inaugural presentation of "Tick Talk," hosted by SWAGÊÓƵ's Planetary Health Council.

In April, the SWAGÊÓƵ Planetary Health Council hosted Charles B. Lubelczyk, M.P.H., for a "Tick Talk" lecture on the Biddeford Campus. The presentation was titled â€œClimate Change & Tick Expansion: Why & What You Can Do." Lubelczyk is a 2013 alum of the SWAGÊÓƵ Master of Public Health Program and works as a vector ecologist for Maine Medical Center Research Institute’s .

His talk explored ecological and human-mediated drivers spurring the expansion of ticks, tying in climate change, landscape ecology and policy. He concluded by sharing individual-level action steps that audience members could take in their own lives and communities for tick management and Lyme disease prevention.

More than 70 people attended the event, including other SWAGÊÓƵ alumni and many current students. More than 260 viewers watched the livestreamed video of the presentation, including viewers from SWAGÊÓƵ’s campus in Tangier, Morocco.

The SWAGÊÓƵ Planetary Health Council was formed April 2017 after SWAGÊÓƵ joined the Harvard-led , an international consortium of 140+ universities, NGOs and other partners with the shared mission of advancing planetary health.

The "Tick Talk" event was sponsored by the Department of Health, Wellness and Occupational Studies; the Department of Biology, the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Communications, the Office of Sustainability, and the Planetary Health Council.

SWAGÊÓƵ the SWAGÊÓƵ

The SWAGÊÓƵ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.