Medical Entomologist - Brief Article

Studies insects that transmit disease.

On any given day, Melissa Miller must don white plastic-reinforced coveralls, a hood with an air filter, and two pairs of surgical gloves to go to work. Does she brave toxic waste dumps with this gear? No--just the woods.

Miller is a medical entomologist for the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (CHPPM) in Fort Meade, Maryland. Part of her job is to wade into training fields and forests on military bases from Maine to North Carolina to collect ticks, other arthropods (segmented organisms like spiders and insects), and rodents that may be carrying dangerous bacteria. When infected ticks bite humans, they can transmit serious illnesses like Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

After gathering several thousand ticks, Miller uses lab equipment in Maryland to discover how many are disease carriers. Her back data help estimate how much the base personnel are at risk for contracting these illnesses. Miller's surveys can also reveal if Lyme and other diseases are emerging in new areas of the country.

Since Lyme disease is the second-fastest-growing communicable disease in the U.S., jobs like Miller's are increasingly necessary. Many medical entomologists work for stare public health departments or universities. "But the U.S. armed forces hire quite a number of us," Miller says. Why? In wars, more soldiers die off the battlefield than on it. A large percentage of those deaths are caused by insect-borne diseases, such as malaria.

Miller says her fieldwork can be intense, but rewarding, even in hot, humid ten-hour days that may find her in flannel clothes sweeping tall grass for ticks. Some afternoons her white coveralls crawl with dozens of bugs. "Many people think insect work is gross," she says, "but I think I have the most fun job in the world."

Miller, 41, has never been squeamish about creepy crawlies. "I was a kid who collected caterpillars in jars," she says, but she didn't realize she wanted to pursue bugs as a career until she wrapped up her bachelor's degree in plant and soil science from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. "A counselor suggested I rate all my college courses by how much I enjoyed them," she says. "My entomology class was at the top of the heap." So she went on to Auburn University in Alabama to net a master's degree in entomology.

Miller began working at CHPPM in 1991 as a lab technician. In her first few years, she equipped the lab with the latest instruments and researched better techniques for testing samples.

Nowadays, fieldwork and lab testing rake up most of her time. After Miller determines if a military base is in a high-risk area, she writes a report describing her findings. Then she holds educational seminars at the base. She explains ways Army staff--especially soldiers who practice drills in bug-infested fields--can avoid bites. She also presents her office's survey results at professional meetings and speaks with public school students about insect awareness.

Miller says a love for the outdoors and a fascination for biological systems is essential for a career in entomology. "I provide information which may help save people's lives," says Miller. "That's very fulfilling."

PROJECTIONS

EDUCATION: A bachelor's degree in entomology or biology with an entomology focus will prepare you for entry-level government jobs. Candidates with higher degrees tend to earn more.

OUTLOOK: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), entomology jobs will grow as fast as the average for all occupations in the coming years. However, if the incidence of insect-borne diseases continues to rise, so will demand for medical entomologists.

SALARY: The BLS reports that entomologists who work for the federal government earned $62,200 in 1997 on average. Expect entry-level salaries to start in the mid-$20,000 range.

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