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.

Teaching the Teachers: Spreading the Word about Lyme Disease

By Bay Area Lyme

Bay Area Lyme at 2017 Association of Environmental and Outdoor Educators Annual Conference in La Honda, CA

Spreading awareness about Lyme and tick-borne infections among high-risk groups has been a key objective for our growing education outreach program at Bay Area Lyme Foundation and the Association for Environmental and Outdoor Educators (AEOE) has been part of our overall education outreach strategy. For the last three years, Bay Area Lyme has attended AEOE’s annual spring conference, raising awareness about Lyme and teaching professional naturalists, outdoor educators, and science teachers how to protect both themselves and the children they serve against Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

Ticks, Ticks, and More Ticks!

By Bay Area Lyme

A Conversation with Dr. Nate Nieto, Northern Arizona University and Head of the Free Tick Testing Program


Nate Nieto_312Just six months ago, Bay Area Lyme launched a free Tick Testing Program through a partnership with Nate Nieto, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University, and his lab.

The lab accept ticks from any state in the US and ticks are tested for several bacterial infections. The goal is to learn more about the ecological distribution of the major tick vectors and the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens that people encounter in different locations around the country ultimately to improve both prevention and diagnostic measures.

The initial response to this program far exceeded any anticipations — thousands of ticks poured in from all over the nation! Here, we sat down with Dr. Nieto to talk about what he has seen in these first few months and how the program will continue to grow and evolve. 

For more information about how to submit a sample, please refer to the Tick Testing page.

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.”

Pets and People: More than Companions

By Bay Area Lyme

Michael Yabsley with petThe following is a post from a guest author, Dr. Michael J. Yabsley, MS, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Population Health at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia and Board of Directors, Companion Animal Parasite Council.

He shares some important observations on the relationship between our pets and their people, especially in the context of vector-borne pathogens like Lyme disease.

Pets are our companions. They share our lives, our homes and our family time. We often share the mutual love of activities such as hiking or simply playing fetch in the backyard. While companionship is clearly why we have pets, our bond with them is often far greater than we appreciate — we share the same environment and more often than not, the same health concerns. At the top of this list are several vector-borne diseases.

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.

Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease in the US: Current State of Affairs

By Bay Area Lyme

Dr. Ben Beard_CDCDr. Ben Beard, PhD, Chief Bacterial Diseases Branch at the CDC, visited with Bay Area Lyme and invited guests as part of the foundation’s ongoing speaker series. This donor-sponsored forum brings together researchers and other experts in an intimate forum for topical discussions with community members. Past events have included Emerging Leader Award winners, clinicians, and patient advocates.

The next event, on Wednesday, March 2, will feature Dr. Christine Green, Director of Education for ILADS, and Allie Cashel, author of Suffering the Silence: Chronic Lyme Disease in an Age of Denial.

For more information, see Speaker Series.

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As Chief of the CDC’s Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases in Fort Collins, Colorado, Dr. Beard coordinates CDC’s programs on Lyme disease, plague, and tularemia. His scientific interests include public health and the biology, ecology, and genetics of insect-borne diseases and vectors. More recently, he has been extensively involved in the CDC’s work to understand and mitigate the potential impact of climate variability and change on infectious disease ecology. He shared the CDC’s concerns about the expanding disease burden and distribution of Lyme and affirmed the importance of attracting new research interest and efforts focused on Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Offers Free Tick Testing Nationwide

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Offers Free Tick Testing Nationwide

Free Tick Testing Initiative Is First In The Nation and Aims to Map Tick-borne Diseases Across the U.S. Through Crowd-sourcing

Silicon Valley, CA, February 16, 2016 — Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading nonprofit funder of innovative Lyme disease research in the US, today announced that the Foundation is the first to offer free tick testing for residents of the U.S.  Testing is available through a partnership with Nate Nieto, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University and his lab.  Bay Area Lyme Foundation hopes to use this crowd-sourced data as a vehicle for gaining a greater understanding of the geography of tick-borne diseases in the U.S.  If successful in accumulating data, it will be the first crowd-sourced study of its kind.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Increases Momentum for Lyme Disease Research in 2015

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Foundation Supports More Researchers Nationwide and Expands Advisory Board to Include Cancer Researcher and Lyme Survivor Neil Spector, MD

Silicon Valley, CA — Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading nonprofit funder of innovative Lyme disease research in the US, today released its roster of 2015 research grant recipients. Collectively these researchers received $1.5 million from the Foundation for research related to Lyme disease, a growing epidemic with more than 329,000 reported new cases each year according to the CDC. The organization also highlights the exponential increase in donations to the Foundation in 2015, including more than $6 million that will go directly to support research over the next few years, and announced the addition of Duke University cancer researcher/physician and Lyme survivor Neil Spector, MD to its Scientific Advisory Board.

“With so many unanswered scientific questions related to Lyme, it is exciting to be a part of the growing focus on Lyme disease research and increased scientific creativity in approaches to identifying new diagnostics and treatments,” states Linda Giampa, Executive Director.