--- title: "How Ellie Fausett Turned Her Public-Health Research Into the Vector Guard App | BUILT BY FOUNDRY" description: "Epidemiologist Ellie Fausett and BUILT BY FOUNDRY turned years of field research into Vector Guard, an iOS app for identifying ticks and mosquitoes and staying safe outdoors." canonical: "https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/work/vector-guard-ellie-fausett" language: "en" representation: "text/markdown" --- [Creator app case studies](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/work.md)Vector Guard Health and science · Reference and outdoor safety # How Ellie Fausett Turned Her Public-Health Research Into the Vector Guard App Ellie Fausett is an epidemiologist who spent years researching vector-borne disease, and a science creator with an audience interested in exactly that. She worked with us at BUILT BY FOUNDRY to turn that research into Vector Guard: an iOS app that identifies ticks, mosquitoes, and other vectors from a photo, shows what's active where you are, and walks you through prevention. Written by Weston Bell-GeddesFacts checked 2026-07-14 ![Vector Guard app by Ellie Fausett](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fvectorguard-sc.png&w=3840&q=75) Creator[Ellie Fausett (@bugsncats)](https://www.instagram.com/bugsncats/) Product[Vector Guard](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/vectorguard.md) Independent proof[Apple App Store listing](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vector-guard-bug-identifier/id6749871217) ## The opportunity Ellie had years of specialized research and an audience genuinely interested in real insect risk. But a social post can't be there in the moment — when a parent finds a tick on their kid, or a hiker wonders whether a bite matters, nobody wants to scroll an old feed for the answer. ## The app we built Vector Guard puts that expertise in your pocket. Snap a photo of the bug, find out whether it's a vector worth worrying about, check what's active in your area this season, and read prevention guidance grounded in real public-health research — not old posts, not generic identification results. ### What the app does - Snap a photo to identify ticks, mosquitoes, and other vectors - See which vectors are active in your area, and when in the season to expect them - Prevention and safety guidance grounded in Ellie's public-health research - Practical information, saved and ready for the next outdoor decision ## What BUILT BY FOUNDRY handled - Worked with Ellie to shape years of vector-borne disease research into one focused product - Designed the whole experience — photo identification, local risk context, and prevention guidance - Built the iOS app and published it to the App Store, with Ellie named in the listing - Still run it — maintenance, updates, and improvements after launch are ours to handle, not Ellie's ## Public evidence Everything below is a fact you can check without taking our word for it. We deliberately leave out private revenue claims and projections — the links go to public pages that show the app is real, live, and genuinely this creator’s. - Apple's App Store lists BUILT BY FOUNDRY, INC. as the developer — check it yourself. - The App Store description names Ellie Fausett and describes the field research the app is built on. - Her Instagram, our product page, and the App Store listing all tell the same story about who made this, and with whom. ## Sources and verification [**Vector Guard - Bug Identifier**Apple App StoreApple's public listing · accessed 2026-07-14](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vector-guard-bug-identifier/id6749871217)[**Ellie Fausett (@bugsncats)**InstagramThe creator's public profile · accessed 2026-07-14](https://www.instagram.com/bugsncats/)[**Vector Guard product page**BUILT BY FOUNDRYOur own product page · accessed 2026-07-14](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/vectorguard.md) ## How we wrote this We wrote this case study from our own build records, then checked the creator’s public profile, the product page, and the independent App Store listing on 2026-07-14\. We don’t publish private revenue, download, or retention figures. If we got something wrong, ask us to correct it — anytime. ![Weston Bell-Geddes, founder and CEO of BUILT BY FOUNDRY](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fweston-bell-geddes-founder-built-by-foundry-headshot.jpg&w=256&q=75) About the author ## Weston Bell-Geddes Weston Bell-Geddes is the founder and CEO of BUILT BY FOUNDRY. He writes about creator-owned software businesses, subscription app strategy, App Store launches, and the product operations that turn an audience into durable recurring revenue. [Author profile and latest articles →](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/authors/weston-bell-geddes.md) ## More creator app case studies [Samantha Mae**NineLives**Samantha Mae's community shared cat-care questions that vanished into comment threads. We built NineLives with her — an iOS app that keeps every cat's health history in one place.](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/work/ninelives-samantha-mae.md)[Liv Merima**Claim It**Liv Merima's affirmations lived in the feed. We built Claim It with her — an iOS app where her voice, her prompts, and journaling become a daily practice.](https://www.builtbyfoundry.io/work/claim-it-liv-merima.md)