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| Parker Norman |
Recipients of this award have been asked to present a five-minute “lightning talk” during a symposium at the ASTMH annual meeting planned for Oct. 18-22. Specifically, Norman will present on the interspecies co-feeding transmission of Heartland Virus between a native tick species and the invasive East Asian tick. He will give an additional presentation about his research on ectoparasite-borne diseases.
He earned the national award through a competitive application process. “I'm very happy his hard work was recognized by the American Committee on Arthropod-Borne and Zoonotic Viruses,” said Meghan Hermance, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the Whiddon College of Medicine.
Norman conducted an independent research project as part of the M.D. with Research Honors Program as a member of the Hermance laboratory where he is working with the emerging tick-borne virus, Heartland virus, and studying co-feeding transmission dynamics of Heartland virus between two tick species.
A Fairhope native, Norman earned an undergraduate degree from Auburn University, where he studied a different arthropod – mosquitoes. In the summer of 2022, he completed the USA COM Summer Medical Student Research Program where he investigated the co-feeding transmission of Powassan virus between the invasive tick species Haemaphysalis longicornis and the native tick Ixodes scapularis.
“As my experience with arbovirology research grows, so does my fascination with the virus-tick model and other arthropod-virus interactions,” Norman said. “H. Longicornis is a unique invasive East Asian tick that is now in 17-plus states throughout the U.S. Its expanding territory is an evolving public health threat.”
The Hermance lab is studying, among other things, this invasive East Asian tick’s ability to acquire, maintain, and transmit North American tick-borne viruses to better predict and prepare for future complications with its rise in population, Norman said.
As a medical student, Norman said attending and presenting at conferences is helping to strengthen his skills as an educator and allow him to learn from leading experts.
Founded in 1903, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is the largest international scientific organization of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health. The annual meeting is typically attended by more than 4,500 members from across the globe.
“I am excited to continue pursuing a career in academic medicine,” Norman said, “and I hope to one day be able to pass my knowledge onto others much like Dr. Hermance has for me.”
