Dr Sara Gandy

  • Research Associate (Ecology & Environmental Change)

Biography

Dr Sara Gandy is a Research Associate currently working of the MEaSURE project. 

After completing a PhD on the effects of host community composition on Lyme disease risk at the University of Glasogw (2016-2020), she joined the Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology team at UK Health Security Agency in Porton Down, England to work as a Senior Medical Entomologist between 2020 and 2024.

Research interests

My research primarily focuses on understanding the ecological drivers of tick-borne diseases to provide insights on the mechanisms involved in transmission cycles, especially on the interactions between ticks, hosts and pathogens. My research includes investigating the impacts of environmental changes (woodland restoration, rewilding) and host community composition (deer, rodents, birds) on tick-borne diseases hazard in the UK.

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021
Number of items: 22.

2025

Gandy, Sara L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hall, Jessica L., Plahe, Grace, Watkinson, Kirsty, Johnson, David, Birtles, Richard J. and Gilbert, Lucy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-8450 (2025) The dependence of urban tick and Lyme disease hazards on the hinterlands. Nature Cities, (doi: 10.1038/s44284-025-00320-z) (Early Online Publication)

Gandy, S. L. et al. (2025) An update on Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. prevalence and hazard in ticks at recreational areas in England and Wales between 2021 and 2023. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 16(5), 102523. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102523) (PMID:40729866)

Gandy, S. L. et al. (2025) The role of large ungulate grazers on Ixodes ricinus and tick-borne pathogens in the New Forest - a case study for future rewilded landscapes. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 16(5), 102541. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102541) (PMID:40885150)

White, M. L. et al. (2025) A full-length 16S survey using Nanopore sequencing to uncover the bacterial microbiome in Ixodes ricinus ticks from a single UK woodland, collected across three springs (2019-2021). Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 16(4), 102506. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102506) (PMID:40577939)

Gould, E. et al. (2025) Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology. BMC Biology, 23(1), 35. (doi: 10.1186/s12915-024-02101-x) (PMID:39915771) (PMCID:PMC11804095)

Olsthoorn, F. et al. (2025) Woodland expansion and deer management shape tick abundance and Lyme disease hazard. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 6(1), e12403. (doi: 10.1002/2688-8319.12403)

2024

Medlock, J. M., Gandy, S. L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, White, M. L., Kohl, R., Sprong, H. and Hansford, K. M. (2024) Ixodes ricinus (Acari, Ixodidae) ticks and tick-borne pathogen prevalence on the Isle of Wight – an island perspective in southern England. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, (doi: 10.52004/2054930x-20241011) (Early Online Publication)

Medlock, J. M., Hawkes, F. M., Cheke, R. A., Gibson, G., Abbott, A. J., Cull, B., Gandy, S. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hardy, H., Acott, T. and Vaux, A. G. C. (2024) Mosquito diversity and abundance in English wetlands – empirical evidence to guide predictions for wetland suitability for mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, 42(1), pp. 3-29. (doi: 10.52004/2054930X-20231002)

Schilling, Mirjam, Golding, Megan, Jones, Ben P., Mansfield, Karen L., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Medlock, Jolyon and Johnson, Nicholas (2024) Sequences related to Chimay rhabdovirus are widely distributed in Ixodes ricinus ticks across England and Wales. Viruses, 16(4), 504. (doi: 10.3390/v16040504)

Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Medlock, Jolyon, Cull, Benjamin, Smith, Rob, Gibney, Zoë, Sewgobind, Sanam, Parekh, Insiyah, Harding, Sophie, Johnson, Nicholas and Hansford, Kayleigh (2024) Detection of Babesia species in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in England and Wales. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 15(1), 102291. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102291) (PMID:38061320)

2023

Gould, E. et al. (2023) Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology. EcoEvoRxiv, (doi: 10.32942/X2GG62)

Apaa, Ternenge Thaddaeus, McFadzean, Harriet, Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hansford, Kayleigh, Medlock, Jolyon and Johnson, Nicholas (2023) Anaplasma phagocytophilum ecotype analysis in cattle from Great Britain. Pathogens, 12, 1029. (doi: 10.3390/pathogens12081029) (PMID:37623989) (PMCID:PMC10459425)

Medlock, J.M., Gandy, S. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Johnston, C., Handfield, Z., Neely, K. and Vaux, A.G.C. (2023) Snap-shot assessment of adult mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) densities on the Turks and Caicos Islands, February 2022. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, 41(1), pp. 17-24. (doi: 10.52004/jemca2022.0004)

Gandy, Sara L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hansford, Kayleigh M. and Medlock, Jolyon M. (2023) Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 37(1), pp. 96-104. (doi: 10.1111/mve.12612) (PMID:36239468) (PMCID:PMC10092138)

Hansford, Kayleigh M., Gandy, Sara L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Gillingham, Emma L., McGinley, Liz, Cull, Benjamin, Johnston, Colin, Catton, Matthew and Medlock, Jolyon M. (2023) Mapping and monitoring tick (Acari, Ixodida) distribution, seasonality, and host associations in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2020. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 37(1), pp. 152-163. (doi: 10.1111/mve.12621) (PMID:36309852) (PMCID:PMC10092223)

2022

Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Kilbride, Elizabeth, Biek, Roman ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3471-5357, Millins, Caroline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-092X and Gilbert, Lucy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-8450 (2022) No net effect of host density on tick-borne disease hazard due to opposing roles of vector amplification and pathogen dilution. Ecology and Evolution, 12(9), e9253. (doi: 10.1002/ece3.9253) (PMID:36091342) (PMCID:PMC9448966)

Medlock, Jolyon M., Vaux, Alexander G.C., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Cull, Benjamin, McGinley, Liz, Gillingham, Emma, Catton, Matthew and Pullan, Steven T. (2022) Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the density of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Ixodes ricinus ticks across a landscape: A 5-year study in southern England. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 36(3), pp. 356-370. (doi: 10.1111/mve.12574) (PMID:35521893) (PMCID:PMC9545817)

Gandy, S. et al. (2022) Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs across twenty recreational areas in England and Wales. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 13(4), 101965. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101965) (PMID:35597188)

Medlock, Jolyon M., Hansford, Kayleigh M., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Vaux, Alexander G.C., Keane, Emma, Phipps, Paul and Johnson, Nick (2022) Managing red sheep ticks in Sussex. Vet Record, 190(5), pp. 202-203. (doi: 10.1002/vetr.1555)

Medlock, J.M., Guillem, R., Johnston, C., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Findlay-Wilson, S., Desoisa, K., Schaffner, F. and Vaux, A.G.C. (2022) The first 6 years of surveillance of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Gibraltar. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, 40(1), pp. 23-35. (doi: 10.52004/jemca2022.0001)

2021

Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Kilbride, Elizabeth, Biek, Roman ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3471-5357, Millins, Caroline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-092X and Gilbert, Lucy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-8450 (2021) Experimental evidence for opposing effects of high deer density on tick-borne disease pathogen prevalence and hazard. Parasites and Vectors, 14(1), 509. (doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-05000-0) (PMID:34593023) (PMCID:PMC8485466)

Hansford, K. M. et al. (2021) Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the Royal Parks of London, UK. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 84(3), pp. 593-606. (doi: 10.1007/s10493-021-00633-3) (PMID:34125334)

This list was generated on Thu Oct 23 22:12:26 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles
Number of items: 22.

Articles

Gandy, Sara L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hall, Jessica L., Plahe, Grace, Watkinson, Kirsty, Johnson, David, Birtles, Richard J. and Gilbert, Lucy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-8450 (2025) The dependence of urban tick and Lyme disease hazards on the hinterlands. Nature Cities, (doi: 10.1038/s44284-025-00320-z) (Early Online Publication)

Gandy, S. L. et al. (2025) An update on Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. prevalence and hazard in ticks at recreational areas in England and Wales between 2021 and 2023. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 16(5), 102523. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102523) (PMID:40729866)

Gandy, S. L. et al. (2025) The role of large ungulate grazers on Ixodes ricinus and tick-borne pathogens in the New Forest - a case study for future rewilded landscapes. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 16(5), 102541. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102541) (PMID:40885150)

White, M. L. et al. (2025) A full-length 16S survey using Nanopore sequencing to uncover the bacterial microbiome in Ixodes ricinus ticks from a single UK woodland, collected across three springs (2019-2021). Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 16(4), 102506. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102506) (PMID:40577939)

Gould, E. et al. (2025) Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology. BMC Biology, 23(1), 35. (doi: 10.1186/s12915-024-02101-x) (PMID:39915771) (PMCID:PMC11804095)

Olsthoorn, F. et al. (2025) Woodland expansion and deer management shape tick abundance and Lyme disease hazard. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 6(1), e12403. (doi: 10.1002/2688-8319.12403)

Medlock, J. M., Gandy, S. L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, White, M. L., Kohl, R., Sprong, H. and Hansford, K. M. (2024) Ixodes ricinus (Acari, Ixodidae) ticks and tick-borne pathogen prevalence on the Isle of Wight – an island perspective in southern England. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, (doi: 10.52004/2054930x-20241011) (Early Online Publication)

Medlock, J. M., Hawkes, F. M., Cheke, R. A., Gibson, G., Abbott, A. J., Cull, B., Gandy, S. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hardy, H., Acott, T. and Vaux, A. G. C. (2024) Mosquito diversity and abundance in English wetlands – empirical evidence to guide predictions for wetland suitability for mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, 42(1), pp. 3-29. (doi: 10.52004/2054930X-20231002)

Schilling, Mirjam, Golding, Megan, Jones, Ben P., Mansfield, Karen L., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Medlock, Jolyon and Johnson, Nicholas (2024) Sequences related to Chimay rhabdovirus are widely distributed in Ixodes ricinus ticks across England and Wales. Viruses, 16(4), 504. (doi: 10.3390/v16040504)

Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Medlock, Jolyon, Cull, Benjamin, Smith, Rob, Gibney, Zoë, Sewgobind, Sanam, Parekh, Insiyah, Harding, Sophie, Johnson, Nicholas and Hansford, Kayleigh (2024) Detection of Babesia species in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in England and Wales. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 15(1), 102291. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102291) (PMID:38061320)

Gould, E. et al. (2023) Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology. EcoEvoRxiv, (doi: 10.32942/X2GG62)

Apaa, Ternenge Thaddaeus, McFadzean, Harriet, Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hansford, Kayleigh, Medlock, Jolyon and Johnson, Nicholas (2023) Anaplasma phagocytophilum ecotype analysis in cattle from Great Britain. Pathogens, 12, 1029. (doi: 10.3390/pathogens12081029) (PMID:37623989) (PMCID:PMC10459425)

Medlock, J.M., Gandy, S. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Johnston, C., Handfield, Z., Neely, K. and Vaux, A.G.C. (2023) Snap-shot assessment of adult mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) densities on the Turks and Caicos Islands, February 2022. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, 41(1), pp. 17-24. (doi: 10.52004/jemca2022.0004)

Gandy, Sara L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Hansford, Kayleigh M. and Medlock, Jolyon M. (2023) Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 37(1), pp. 96-104. (doi: 10.1111/mve.12612) (PMID:36239468) (PMCID:PMC10092138)

Hansford, Kayleigh M., Gandy, Sara L. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Gillingham, Emma L., McGinley, Liz, Cull, Benjamin, Johnston, Colin, Catton, Matthew and Medlock, Jolyon M. (2023) Mapping and monitoring tick (Acari, Ixodida) distribution, seasonality, and host associations in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2020. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 37(1), pp. 152-163. (doi: 10.1111/mve.12621) (PMID:36309852) (PMCID:PMC10092223)

Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Kilbride, Elizabeth, Biek, Roman ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3471-5357, Millins, Caroline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-092X and Gilbert, Lucy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-8450 (2022) No net effect of host density on tick-borne disease hazard due to opposing roles of vector amplification and pathogen dilution. Ecology and Evolution, 12(9), e9253. (doi: 10.1002/ece3.9253) (PMID:36091342) (PMCID:PMC9448966)

Medlock, Jolyon M., Vaux, Alexander G.C., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Cull, Benjamin, McGinley, Liz, Gillingham, Emma, Catton, Matthew and Pullan, Steven T. (2022) Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the density of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Ixodes ricinus ticks across a landscape: A 5-year study in southern England. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 36(3), pp. 356-370. (doi: 10.1111/mve.12574) (PMID:35521893) (PMCID:PMC9545817)

Gandy, S. et al. (2022) Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs across twenty recreational areas in England and Wales. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, 13(4), 101965. (doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101965) (PMID:35597188)

Medlock, Jolyon M., Hansford, Kayleigh M., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Vaux, Alexander G.C., Keane, Emma, Phipps, Paul and Johnson, Nick (2022) Managing red sheep ticks in Sussex. Vet Record, 190(5), pp. 202-203. (doi: 10.1002/vetr.1555)

Medlock, J.M., Guillem, R., Johnston, C., Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Findlay-Wilson, S., Desoisa, K., Schaffner, F. and Vaux, A.G.C. (2022) The first 6 years of surveillance of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Gibraltar. Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association, 40(1), pp. 23-35. (doi: 10.52004/jemca2022.0001)

Gandy, Sara ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2579-4479, Kilbride, Elizabeth, Biek, Roman ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3471-5357, Millins, Caroline ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-092X and Gilbert, Lucy ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9139-8450 (2021) Experimental evidence for opposing effects of high deer density on tick-borne disease pathogen prevalence and hazard. Parasites and Vectors, 14(1), 509. (doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-05000-0) (PMID:34593023) (PMCID:PMC8485466)

Hansford, K. M. et al. (2021) Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the Royal Parks of London, UK. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 84(3), pp. 593-606. (doi: 10.1007/s10493-021-00633-3) (PMID:34125334)

This list was generated on Thu Oct 23 22:12:26 2025 BST.

Supervision

  • McLellan, William
    Human and livestock influence on tick populations and the environmental hazards of Tick-Borne Pathogens

picture sara