Joyce M. Sakamoto, Ph.D.

Joyce M. Sakamoto, Ph.D.

  • Assistant Research Professor
W-104 Millennium Science Complex
University Park, PA 16802

Websites

Education

  • B.S., Microbiology, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
  • M.S., Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis
  • Ph.D., Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis

Broadly, I study arthropods (primarily ectoparasites) and their microbial inhabitants. My current research interests are:

  1. Investigation of tick community composition over time using passive surveillance data and museum specimens.
  2. Investigation of tick and other arthropod microbial communities, particularly the transmission of and interactions between endosymbiotic bacteria
  3. Behavior/natural history of ticks off-host 

Select publications: (Full list @Google scholar)

  1. Pak, D., Jacobs, S.B. & Sakamoto, J.M. A 117-year retrospective analysis of Pennsylvania tick community dynamics. Parasites Vectors 12, 189 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3451-6
  2. Sakamoto, J. M. (2018). Progress, challenges, and the role of public engagement to improve tick-borne disease literacy . Current Opinion in Insect Science, 28, 81–89.
  3. Sakamoto JM, Ng TFF, Suzuki Y, Tsujimoto H, Deng X, Delwart E, Rasgon JL. 2016. Bunyaviruses are common in male and female Ixodes scapularis ticks in central Pennsylvania. PeerJ. 4: e2324.
  4. Gulia-Nuss, M., Nuss, A., Meyer, J. et al. Genomic insights into the Ixodes scapularis tick vector of Lyme disease. Nat Commun 7, 10507 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10507
  5. Sakamoto JM, Goddard J, Rasgon JL (2014)  Population and Demographic Structure of Ixodes scapularis Say in the Eastern United States. PLOS ONE 9(7): e101389.