BIOGRAPHY

Research Interests

My research activity is primarily in Zoology (parasitology) with a focus on ecogenetic and ethological aspects of the important tick species Ixodes ricinus, the vector of Lyme borreliosis. Lyme disease is of growing medical importance in Europe and in Ireland alone an estimated 300 hundred people become infected each year. The goal of this work is to contribute to fundamental information which can be used for tick control measures, guidance to reduce human-tick contact, and pasture-management strategies.

This work, conducted in the Dept of ZEPS has been supported by both undergraduate and postgraduate (taught MSc) project work in Computer Science relating to modelling and simulation of tick distribution and behaviour


Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2008) 'Aggregation in the tick Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae): Use and reuse of questing vantage points'
Healy, J.A.E. & P. Bourke. ; (2008) 'Aggregation in the tick Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae): Use and reuse of questing vantage points' [Details]
(2008) 'Aggregation In The Tick Ixodes Ricinus (Acari : Ixodidae): Use and Reuse of Questing Vantage Points'
Healy, JAE, Bourke, P; (2008) 'Aggregation In The Tick Ixodes Ricinus (Acari : Ixodidae): Use and Reuse of Questing Vantage Points' [Details]
(2004) 'The alpha-Gpdh polymorphism in the tick Ixodes ricinus: similar diurnal trends in genotypic composition in Irish and Swedish population samples'
Healy, J.A.E, T.F. Cross & A. Healy; (2004) 'The alpha-Gpdh polymorphism in the tick Ixodes ricinus: similar diurnal trends in genotypic composition in Irish and Swedish population samples' [Details]
(2004) 'Field evidence for aggregating behaviour in the tick Ixodes ricinus L'
Healy, J.A.E. & P. Bourke; (2004) 'Field evidence for aggregating behaviour in the tick Ixodes ricinus L' [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2005) Education Centre Wicklow Mountain National Park,
Healy, J.A.E.; (2005) Tick behaviour and Disease Risk. [Oral Presentation], Education Centre Wicklow Mountain National Park, Wicklow Mountain National Park , 01-SEP-05 - 01-SEP-05
(2004) Education Centre, Killarney National Park,
Healy, J.A.E. ; (2004) Ticks, Ecology and Disease. [Oral Presentation], Education Centre, Killarney National Park, Killarney National Park , 01-SEP-04 - 01-SEP-04

Education

  Year Instituion Qualification Subject
1981 UCC HDip Computer Science
1976 UCC Ph.D. Zoology
1973 UCC MSc Zoology

Teaching Interests

My main teaching focus has been on software engineering, software project management and on the coordination and supervision of student software engineering teams.