George Church, Ph.D., Ting Wu, Ph.D., Steven E. Phillips, M.D. and Michal Caspi Tal, Ph.D., Named Recipients of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s 2018 Emerging Leader Award

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

George Church, Ph.D., Ting Wu, Ph.D., Steven E. Phillips, M.D. and Michal Caspi Tal, Ph.D., Named Recipients of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s 2018 Emerging Leader Award

– Genomics, immunotherapy and unraveling the stealth attributes of Lyme disease are the focus of the 2018 Emerging Leader Award projects, designed to inspire new Lyme disease research –

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., May 14, 2018—Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the U.S., announces the recipients of the 2018 Emerging Leader Awards, which are designed to encourage promising scientists who embody the future of Lyme disease-research leadership. George Church, Ph.D. and Ting Wu, Ph.D. will each be awarded a $250,000 grant to launch the Genomic Lyme Disease Research Initiative project at Harvard Medical School, and Michal Caspi Tal, Ph.D. and Steven E. Phillips, M.D. will each receive $100,000 toward therapeutic research related to immunotherapy and an innovative new drug aimed at eliminating chronic tick-borne infections, respectively. Lyme disease is a potentially devastating infection impacting more than 300,000 Americans each year.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Awards Grants to Researchers Exploring Novel Ways to Detect, Treat Lyme Disease

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Awards Grants to Researchers Exploring Novel Ways to Detect, Treat Lyme Disease

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University Researchers are the Awardees of the 2017 Emerging Leader Awards

Portola Valley, Calif., July 11, 2017 – Bay Area Lyme Foundation, the leading national nonprofit funder of innovative Lyme disease research, today announced that the winners of its 2017 Emerging Leader Award, are James J. Collins, PhD, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yuko Nakajima, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Brandeis University. Dr. Collins was awarded a $250,000 grant to research an RNA direct detection diagnostic for early Lyme disease, while Dr. Nakajima received a $100,000 grant to investigate potential treatments to block immune evasion by the bacteria causing Lyme disease.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s LymeAid 2017 Raises $850,000 to Boost Lyme Disease Research

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s LymeAid 2017 Raises $850,000 to Boost Lyme Disease Research

The event highlights the increasing level of scientific commitment toward Lyme disease and fosters much-needed investment and research in diagnostics and treatments for the disease

Portola Valley, CA (May 22, 2016) – Bay Area Lyme Foundation, the leading public not-for-profit sponsor of innovative Lyme disease research in the US, brought together scientists, philanthropists, celebrities and patients for the fifth annual LymeAid®, an event aimed at making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure.  The benefit dinner and concert raised more than $850,000, of which 100% will go directly to fund research for Lyme disease. During the past 5 years, the event has collectively raised $2.4 million specifically for Lyme disease research.

Treating Lyme Disease: A Functional and Integrative Medicine Approach

By Bay Area Lyme

On Wednesday, March 8, Dr. Sunjya Schweig and his wife, Lia Gaertner, together gave a deeply affecting and informative presentation sharing their personal and professional experiences with Lyme disease. The talk was part of the ongoing Distinguished Speaker Series. What follows is a synopsis of some of the highlights.

Lia Gaertner sharing her story with a full room at the speaker series event in Berkeley, CA.

Lia Gaertner, a member of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation Science Committee, and Dr. Schweig, who is on the foundation’s Advisory Board, bring a wealth of professional expertise and knowledge to the table. But their story starts on a personal note, for it was just one month after Dr. Schweig started working in private practice that Lia — after 10 years of battling serious illness, unexplained symptoms, and debilitating physical and mental challenges — was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease. Together, the couple took what they describe wryly as a “rapid descent together down a rabbit hole” – a deep dive into Lyme, trying to learn as much as possible for their survival.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Announces Winners of “Lyme Innovation” Hackathon at White House Event

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Announces Winners of “Lyme Innovation” Hackathon at White House Event

White House Acknowledges Contributions of Program Organizers
Toward Solving Challenges of Lyme Disease

(Cambridge, MA,) October 5, 2016 — As part of the White House Open Data Innovation Summit, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, collaborating with the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness, Harvard Medical School Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MIT Hacking Medicine, University of California, Berkeley, and the Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation, announces the winning teams of Lyme Innovation.  Lyme Innovation is the first ever Hackathon for Lyme disease, which provided a forum for more than 100 scientists, clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors from a variety of disciplines to brainstorm solutions for this potentially devastating disease.

Had a Good Day? Call in Sick.

By Bay Area Lyme

jordan-fisher-smith_312Wednesday evening September 14th, Jordan Fisher Smith, Lyme patient, former National Park Service (NPS) ranger and US Forest Service firefighter, narrator of the Lyme documentary Under Our Skin, freelance writer, and author of bestselling books, Nature Noir: A Park Ranger’s Patrol in the Sierra and Engineering Eden: The True Story of a Violent Death, a Trial, and the Fight Over Controlling Nature, was the latest to grace the Bay Area Lyme stage as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. This free public series features noted scientists, health professionals, and Lyme advocates in intimate salon-style settings, where audience members can ask questions and get answers about the latest in Lyme disease research, treatments, and policy news. And sometimes, it’s just about sharing stories and insights.

This week’s presentation was just that — a moving discussion of Jordan’s personal experience and reflections battling Lyme disease, what he describes as the toughest 9 1/2 years and biggest struggle of his life (and this from a man who nearly lost his life during blizzard conditions on the top of Mt. Shasta!).

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Announces Finalists of “Lyme Innovation” Hackathon

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Announces Finalists of “Lyme Innovation” Hackathon

Event brings together research from other therapeutic areas and disciplines to collaborate in development of solutions

Cambridge, MA, June 24, 2016 – Bay Area Lyme Foundation, collaborating with the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness, Harvard Medical School Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MIT Hacking Medicine, University of California, Berkeley, and the Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation, today announced the five finalists of Lyme Innovation, the first ever Hackathon for Lyme disease.  More than 100 scientists, clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors from several US states registered for this event to brainstorm solutions for Lyme disease, a potentially devastating condition newly infecting 329,000 people each year.

“Collaboration is the key to solving the myriad of challenges of Lyme disease, and we were excited to have the participation of so many researchers new to Lyme research,” said Wendy Adams, Science Committee, Bay Area Lyme Foundation.  “It has been exciting to see such a wide range of expertise and enthusiasm come together to focus on solutions for this serious disease.”

American Ninja Warrior Elet Hall Educates about Lyme Disease Risks

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

American Ninja Warrior Elet Hall Educates about Lyme Disease Risks

Growing issue of Lyme disease in California prompts Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE) to provide Lyme education at statewide conference

Silicon Valley, CA, May 9, 2016 — Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading non-profit funder and advocate of innovative Lyme disease research in the US, today announced that Elet Hall, ambassador for the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, and Jo Ellis, director, education outreach, Bay Area Lyme Foundation helped raise awareness about Lyme disease and tick-borne illnesses among California Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (AEOE) conference attendees.  Attendees included individuals who work in museums, zoos, nature centers, and state and national parks as well as environmental and outdoor educators who help instill an understanding of nature to individuals of all ages, from California and neighboring states.

Philanthropists and Scientists Collaborate to Increase the Pace of Lyme Disease Research, Raising $815,000 at LymeAid 2016

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Philanthropists and Scientists Collaborate to Increase the Pace of Lyme Disease Research, Raising $815,000 at LymeAid 2016

Weekend kicks off with high-level scientific discussions, and concludes with a fun-filled performance by the legendary Diana Ross

Palo Alto, CA (May 3, 2016) – This weekend, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading nonprofit funder and advocate of innovative Lyme disease research in the US, hosted a 2-day event aimed at helping make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure.  Scientists and clinicians, who met to strategize concepts and collaborations on Saturday, were joined by more than 300 philanthropists, celebrities, patients and others in the medical field for the fourth annual LymeAid on Sunday.  The benefit dinner and concert raised more than $815,000, of which 100% will go directly to fund research for Lyme disease.  More than 329,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with this potentially debilitating disease.

Diana Ross headlined LymeAid, energizing the enthusiastic crowd with “I Will Survive” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, whose names offered unique relevance for the audience and brought attendees to their feet for an hour of nonstop dancing. Earlier in the evening two other voices also entertained guests with original songs addressing the need to overcome this devastating disease.  Kiva, 11, movingly performed his original song “10 Years and 17 Doctors” about his mother’s struggle with Lyme disease.  Additionally, Sony/ATV singer/songwriter Dana Parish, who dealt with great difficulty being diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease, performed “Pull You Through”.

Experts Hack for Lyme Disease Solutions in Boston and Berkeley

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Tara DiMilia, 908-947-0500, tara.dimilia@TMstrat.com

Experts Hack for Lyme Disease Solutions in Boston and Berkeley

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Supports the First Hackathon for Lyme Disease to Inspire Innovation

Silicon Valley, CA, April 18, 2016— To inspire innovation to help solve the challenges of Lyme disease, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, collaborating with the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network’s Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness, Harvard Medical School Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MIT Hacking Medicine, University of California, Berkeley, and the Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation, is supporting Lyme Innovation, the first ever Hackathon for Lyme disease, a potentially devastating condition newly infecting 329,000 people each year. Scientists, clinicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors from both U.S. coasts participated in this innovative event, which kicked off this weekend, and will continue in Cambridge June 17 – 19, at the Microsoft Nerd Center.