Tufts University · BiologyWildlife Disease Ecology and Immune Response Lab
Yi-Pin Lin · Medford, Massachusetts
Research Focus
Dr. Yi-Pin Lin's lab focuses on understanding how wild birds help maintain Lyme disease bacteria, which is a significant health concern in the U.S. The research aims to uncover the immune responses of birds that allow these bacteria to persist without causing the birds harm. By studying this interaction, the lab hopes to inform public health strategies to reduce the risk of Lyme disease in humans.
Lyme diseaseBorrelia burgdorferiwildlife disease ecologyimmune responsebird reservoirs
Research Aims
5AIM 01Identify mechanisms that allow birds to harbor Lyme disease bacteria
AIM 02Examine the role of immune responses in the persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi in birds
AIM 03Investigate how different genotypes of Lyme bacteria affect bird immune response
AIM 04Assess the impact of delayed antibody responses on pathogen survival in birds
AIM 05Determine the influence of complement on the survival of Lyme bacteria in avian hosts.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRcell cultureimmunohistochemistryin vivo experimentsanimal handlingdata analysisWestern blotmicroscopyfield sampling
Output against the department
Publications89bottom 29% of dept.728th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.4kbottom 17% of dept.853rd of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.