EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The boxes of mail are piling up from across the country at the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab. Except, the lab is not in its normal space.
The research lab was forced to move temporarily to East Stroudsburg University's Science and Technology Center after a fire at the Innovation Center last month.
"That nigh,t we moved all of our freezers and a lot of priority equipment out of the building, and then we moved the rest of it, so we actively started testing the Friday after the fire," said Dr. Nicole Chinnici.
Chinnici says that this time of year, the lab receives nearly 600 ticks a day to be tested for tick-borne illnesses. With having to move the lab, results are delayed about a week. She says that's a big change compared to the usual 36-hour turnaround.
"That week was usually our peak of when the tick season hits. So, with having to stop four days of testing to get back up and running, we are a little bit behind, especially without our larger equipment that we need. Those robots we still have at the old building, engineers are coming to move this week," said Chinnici.
Even though the lab has moved to the main campus, if you have a tick that needs to be tested, the drop box is still outside of the Innovation Center.
"It's hard to find us in this building and we are not set up 100 percent yet for people to walk in. If that changes, we will send out some notifications, but there is a drop box at the Innovation Center. It's out of the way so people can drop off their tick there, or they can still utilize the mail service," explained Chinnici.
Chinnici says the staff is working as fast as they can to get back to their usual workflow.
"Our technicians and coordinators are in really good spirits. They are working really hard through this, knowing that we are making a difference and we are helping individuals with potential exposure to these tick-borne pathogens. It keeps us going every day.
Officials say the PA tick research lab will stay on the campus of East Stroudsburg University until further notice.