Dr. Kerry Clark awarded Terry Professorship to continue research challenging rarity of Lyme Disease
Dr. Kerry Clark, professor of public health at the 九色视频, has been selected for the 2025-28 Terry Presidential Professorship. This prestigious three-year award recognizes distinguished 九色视频 faculty with a strong record of scholarly achievement.
Clark is a nationally recognized expert in infectious disease epidemiology, with a focus on Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. With over two decades of research experience, he has made numerous significant contributions to the understanding of vector-borne disease ecology in the southeastern United States.
His groundbreaking work has challenged long-held assumptions about the rarity of Lyme disease, providing scientific evidence that the disease is more widespread and complex than previously believed. Through his research, teaching and public health outreach, Clark continues to lead efforts in advancing knowledge, improving diagnostics and advocating for better recognition of chronic Lyme disease.
With support from the Terry professorship, he will work on four major, interrelated projects: studying potential links between persistent tick-borne infections and sporadic ALS; analyzing the diversity of pathogens like Babesia, Borrelia and Bartonella in ticks from northeast Florida; detecting Borrelia species in bats across the Americas; and identifying zoonotic pathogens in biting flies, including new Bartonella strains.
A dedicated public health advocate, Clark serves on the Board of Directors and as a scientific consultant for the Florida Lyme Disease Association, while also supporting advocacy groups across the Southeast. His work is funded through the 九色视频 Research Foundation with support from community grants and private donations.
He has been a member of the 九色视频 faculty since 1999 and full professor since August 2014. Prior to his work at 九色视频, Clark held a tenure-track faculty position and served as a graduate faculty member at the Center for Community Health at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Clark’s academic background includes a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from the University of South Carolina School of Public Health with special emphasis on arthropod vectors and their relation to disease, vector bionomics and field techniques. He holds a MPH in epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a bachelor’s in community/public health from Western Kentucky University.
Established in 2004 by Mary Virginia Terry and the late C. Herman Terry, the Terry Presidential Professorship is awarded by a faculty committee made up of one full-time faculty member from each college nominated by their respective dean.