When and Where?
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
8 am – 2:30 pm
MART Building, 1 Lauterbur Drive, Stony Brook, NY 11794
The Symposium on Tick-borne Diseases, co-sponsored by the Renaissance School of Medicine's Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology, is free and open to the public. Breakfast and lunch are included with registration.
This event will feature researchers and clinicians from the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. The program will cover recent advances in research on tick-borne illnesses, including infections common on Long Island and the Alpha-gal meat allergy. This event will also showcase the resources that Stony Brook provides to keep our community informed about tick-transmitted diseases.
Continuing Medical Education Credits:
The School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook designates this live activity for a maximum of 4.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Photograph courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)Event Agenda:
| Morning Introduction | ||
| Time | Title | Speaker(s) |
| 8 am – 8:30 am | Coffee & Lite Bites | — |
| 8:30 – 8:40 am | Introduction | Peter Igarashi, Knapp Endowed Dean, Renaissance School of Medicine |
| Session I: The Significance of the Problem | ||
| 8:40 – 9 am | Tick Vectors of Disease | Ilia Rochlin, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology |
| 9 am – 9:20 am | Tick-borne Pathogens | Jorge Benach, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology |
| Session II: Pathogenesis Research on Tick-borne Infections | ||
| 9:20 – 9:40 am | Powassan Virus Directs an Alzheimer's-Like Disease | Erich Mackow, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology |
| 9:40 – 10 am | Rickettsial Pathogenesis and Host Immunity | Hwan Kim, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology |
| 10 am – 10:20 am | Tools to Study Tick-borne Disease-specific T Cells | Samuel Becker, Dept. of Medicine |
| Coffee Break and Award Presentation | ||
| 10:20 –10:45 am | Coffee break | — |
| 10:45 –11 am | Award Presentation for US Congressman Nick LaLota | William Wertheim, Executive Vice President, Stony Brook Medicine |
| Session III: Clinical-Translational Research on Tick-borne Infections | ||
| 11 am – 11:20 am | From Research to Real Life: Translating Evidence on Tick-borne Diseases into Practice | Luis Marcos, Dept. of Medicine |
| 11:20 –11:40 am | Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studying Emerging Tick-borne Diseases: Insights from Rickettsia Amblyommatis | Andrew Handel, Dept. of Pediatrics |
| 11:40 am – 12 pm | Acute and Prolonged Human Immune Responses to Tick-borne Infections | Charles Vorkas, Dept. of Medicine |
| 12 pm – 12:30 pm | Clinical-Translational Research Panel | Luis Marcos, Andrew Handel, Charles Vorkas |
| Lunch | ||
| 12:30 –1:10 pm | Lunch | — |
| Session IV: Alpha-gal Syndrome: An Urgent Emerging Threat | ||
| 1:10 –1:50 pm | Alpha-Gal Panel Discussion | Erin McGintee, ENT and Allergy Associates, Southampton; member, Medical Advisory Panel to the Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital Brianne Navetta-Modrov, Dept. of Medicine |
| Session V: Resources from the Stony Brook-Southampton Regional Tick-borne Diseases Center | ||
| 1:50 –2:10 pm | Regional Tick-borne Disease Resource Center & Clinic – An Overview | Karen Wulffraat, Director |
| 2:10 –2:30 pm | Closing Remarks | — |