Mice Against Ticks began as a collaboration between island residents and scientists, united by a shared determination to stop the spread of Lyme disease. Facing rising rates of tick-borne illness on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, local leaders partnered with researchers from the MIT Media Lab’s Sculpting Evolution Group to launch a groundbreaking initiative: engineering white-footed mice with heritable resistance to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

With early leadership from Dr. Howard Dickler — a Nantucket resident, physician, and former NIH researcher and administrator — and support from local boards of health and community members, the project quickly became a true partnership between academic researchers, public health experts, and island residents.

Today, our nonprofit continues to advance cutting-edge research, community leadership, and responsible biotechnology to reduce disease at its source — all guided by local collaboration, safety, and transparency. What began on the islands has become a model for community-driven science, with the potential to transform how we prevent reservoir-borne diseases worldwide.