Emily Sel Contacts: emily.sel@phd.unipi.itORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7942-6129 Thesis supervisors:: Dott.ssa Lisa Guardone, Dott. Claudio De Liberato Project title: Ticks, Tick-Borne Diseases, and Wildlife: A One Health Approach to Endemic and Emerging Risks Abastract: Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites of vertebrates and are responsible for the transmission of Tick-borne diseases (TBDs), which have viral, bacterial, and parasitic etiologies and represent a growing concern for both public and animal health. The distribution, abundance, and seasonality of ticks, and consequently the epidemiology of TBDs, are influenced by multiple factors, including climate change and host population dynamics. Wildlife strongly affects tick presence and abundance and serves as a valuable tool for characterizing and monitoring tick populations and their associated Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs). This PhD project aims to characterize tick fauna and the epidemiology of parasitic TBDs in selected areas of central and northwestern Italy through the following objectives: a) collect data on tick species and tick-host associations in wild animals; b) assess the prevalence of parasitic pathogens responsible for TBDs in different tick species and vertebrate hosts; c) evaluate differences in tick fauna and the epidemiology of parasitic TBDs in relation to geographic, environmental, and demographic factors; d) assess the potential health risk for humans and domestic animals. To achieve these goals, ticks and spleen samples will be collected from hunted game and carcasses of wild animals found dead. Environmental sampling (e.g., dragging) will also be conducted in the study area, and samples may be collected from domestic animals that share habitats with wildlife. The collected ticks will be identified at the species level, and molecular technologies (PCR), including NGS, will be applied to detect parasitic TBPs in both ticks and biological samples. The Istituto Zooprofilattico of Lazio and Tuscany is the co-funding institution of this PhD project. Poster at the conference: Guardone L., Sel E., Mancianti F. Molecular survey on protozoa and microsporidia in foxes (vulpes vulpes) from pisa (Tuscany, central Italy). Atti XXXII Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Parassitologia Napoli, 27-30 giugno 2022, pag.225