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SUMMARY:PSI seminar: ‘From local to continental: how vector ecology shap
 es tick‑borne disease emergence in Europe’ presented by Dr Helen Esser
  - Dr Helen Esser (Assistant Professor\, Wildlife Ecology & Conservation g
 roup\, Wageningen University)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260217T150000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260217T160000Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/63f816b9-64f8-4b73-a494-d413294d63df/
DESCRIPTION:In this PSI Seminar\, Dr Helen Esser\, Wageningen University w
 ill present 'From local to continental: how vector ecology shapes tick‑b
 orne disease emergence in Europe.' The session will be hosted by PSI and c
 haired by Marieke de Swart. The seminar will take place on Tuesday\, 17 Fe
 bruary 2026 from 15.00 to 16.30. Following the seminar\, tea and cake will
  be provided\, along with an opportunity to network with attendees.\n\nAbo
 ut the speaker \nHelen Esser is an assistant professor at the Wildlife Eco
 logy and Conservation Group at Wageningen University & Research\, the Neth
 erlands. Esser is a disease ecologist whose research examines how environm
 ental change\, such as biodiversity loss and land-use change\, alters host
 -vector interactions and creates conditions for pathogen emergence. By com
 bining field studies with ecological modelling\, she studies the mechanism
 s that drive the emergence of wildlife and vector-borne diseases. \n \nSem
 inar outline \nThe ecology of arthropod vectors\, such as ticks and mosqui
 toes\, plays a crucial yet often underappreciated role in the emergence an
 d spread of zoonotic pathogens. In many vector-borne disease systems\, tra
 nsmission is highly uneven: a minority of hosts account for most new infec
 tions.  \n\nTick borne encephalitis virus (TBEV)\, medically the most impo
 rtant arbovirus in Europe\, is a clear example. Its persistence depends on
  ticks feeding in close proximity on the same rodent\, even when that rode
 nt is immune.  \nThis so-called co-feeding transmission occurs on only a s
 mall fraction of rodents and was historically associated with specific cli
 matic conditions. Nevertheless\, TBEV has recently expanded into parts of 
 northwestern Europe previously considered climatically unsuitable\, includ
 ing England. The ecological conditions promoting TBEV transmission in thes
 e new areas of emergence remain poorly understood. \nSpeakers:\nDr Helen E
 sser (Assistant Professor\, Wildlife Ecology & Conservation group\, Wageni
 ngen University)
LOCATION:Hybrid event: MS Teams or The Richard Doll Building Lecture Theat
 re\, Old Road Campus. 
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/63f816b9-64f8-4b73-a494-d413294d63df/
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ACTION:display
DESCRIPTION:Talk:PSI seminar: ‘From local to continental: how vector eco
 logy shapes tick‑borne disease emergence in Europe’ presented by Dr He
 len Esser - Dr Helen Esser (Assistant Professor\, Wildlife Ecology & Conse
 rvation group\, Wageningen University)
TRIGGER:-PT1H
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