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Biology student works to develop better Lyme disease tests

26 Jul 2018

Bland_mainOne of the challenges in treating Lyme disease, whether for humans, pets, or agricultural animals, is diagnosing it in the first place 鈥 existing tests have varying levels of accuracy.

Fourth-year Mount Allison biology student Julia Bland is hoping her summer and honours research will help change that, at least for a few species.

鈥淭here have been some tests that have been optimized already for species, one for dogs, for example, and it works really well,鈥 says Bland, who is from Avonport, NS. 鈥淐reating a similar test for other species is my end goal. I鈥檓 not sure if I will get there, but the holy grail of this project is to get to that point.鈥

Bland is studying the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, one of the most common tests used to detect Lyme disease.

鈥淭he ELISA is looking for an immune response, for the detection of antibodies in the blood of animals,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 am taking an established protocol for the canine test and optimizing it for the different species that I am working with, trying to make it more accurate for different species, instead of using one test for all species. Different animals have quite different immune systems.鈥

The research is supported by a grant from the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation.

鈥淚 was really, really fortunate to get the independent summer research grant. I couldn鈥檛 do this work without it,鈥 Bland says. 鈥淎nd it makes a big difference to my honours thesis to have the time to do really great science. The summer grant just allows a lot of flexibility to take your time and make sure you do it right.鈥

Bland is carrying out her research under the supervision of Dr. Vett Lloyd, a Mount Allison biology professor who is a noted expert in tick and Lyme research.

鈥淥ne of the things that really impresses me is how proactive the veterinary community is in dealing with Lyme disease, and, as a result, how good the testing is for dogs,鈥 Lloyd says. 鈥淲hen I was worried that my dog was ill with Lyme disease, I took her to the vet hospital and within 30 minutes the vet had taken a blood sample, tested it, and prescribed antibiotics to treat it. In the ideal world, human testing could be as fast. Working with Julia, a future veterinarian, is wonderful and we are starting on the problem of designing better Lyme disease tests by adapting the canine test to horses.鈥

Bland is planning to pursue a career in veterinary medicine after Mount Allison and has already been accepted at the Atlantic Veterinary College in PEI.

鈥淭his research seems like a match made in heaven. It鈥檚 very applicable to what I want to do in the future,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 volunteered for a number of years back home for a vet clinic and we talked about Lyme disease a lot and the prevalence of it and that got my interest piqued. Coming to Mount A and taking a class with Dr. Lloyd sparked my interest even more. I鈥檝e been really fortunate to work with her; she is a really great supervisor.鈥

Bland says her best advice to new students is not to be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and talk to people, especially professors.

鈥淓specially when you get into upper-year courses, they will know your first and last name, what you鈥檙e interested in, where you are from 鈥 even in first year, make that connection right away. You never know what opportunities may come your way,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 feel like we say it so much, it鈥檚 become a clich茅, but it鈥檚 not 鈥 at Mount A people really are as easy to get along with and talk with as we say they are.鈥
 

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