CRISPR Technology: A New Approach to Eradicating Borrelia

By Bay Area Lyme

courtesy Beisel Lab, NCSUDr. Chase Beisel is an Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University who was recognized earlier this year with one of Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s prestigious Emerging Leader Awards. This honor is in recognition of and support for his lab‘s novel work exploring CRISPR technology as a potential treatment for Lyme infections.

Dr. Beisel’s work integrates molecular biology, chemical engineering, and mathematical modeling and has been acknowledged with several National Science Foundation (NSF),  National Institute for Health (NIH) and other important awards. His foray into the field of Lyme is a new direction for his lab and ties directly to the Foundation’s aim of attracting some of the brightest and best minds in the country to apply innovative new approaches and methodology to accelerate the development of new diagnostics and treatments for Lyme disease. We are excited about his work and asked him to elaborate further in this recent conversation.

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.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Increases Annual ‘Emerging Leader Award’ Grants to $350,000 for 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 Increases Annual ‘Emerging Leader Award’ Grants to $350,000 for Lyme Disease Research

2017 additional award invites applications from Associate Professors through Full Professors

Silicon Valley, California, October 3, 2016 – Bay Area Lyme Foundation, supporter of research aimed at making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, announced today that it is beginning to accept applications for a new $250,000 grant award that has been added to its existing “Emerging Leader Award” portfolio of yearly funding.  Made available to researchers through the generosity of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation and the Laurel Foundation, the portfolio also includes the $100,000 “Emerging Leader Award” which has previously been granted to researchers from Harvard, Stanford, UCSF, NC State and Louisiana State University.

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 Sponsors Massachusetts General Hospital Forum to Address Challenges of 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 Sponsors Massachusetts General Hospital Forum to Address Challenges of Lyme Disease

Researchers consider issues of persistence, and cardiac and neurological manifestations of Lyme disease, as well as the challenges of other emerging tick-borne diseases

Boston, MA, June 13, 2016 – Massachusetts General Hospital convened a national scientific conference, “Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Illnesses: Diagnostics, Emerging Pathogens and Avenues for New Research,” was convened at Massachusetts General Hospital to educate and inspire collaboration toward a greater understanding of the of tick-borne diseases and how research should be focused. This conference, which was attended by academia, industry, and government, was supported by Bay Area Lyme Foundation. Lyme disease infects more than 329,000 people each year in the U.S., and there is currently no sufficiently reliable Lyme diagnostic test and there is no universally effective treatment for post-treatment Lyme disease.

Hope, Faith, and Perseverance — How One Family Overcame Lyme Disease

By Bay Area Lyme

Eliza Hemenway_HS_312Bay Area author and noted documentary filmmaker Eliza Hemenway recently turned her journalistic eye toward her own family to document a notably personal and tryingly poignant story about her family’s trials with Lyme disease and the baffling enigma that surrounds the illness and its treatment. Her daughter, Katherine, just seven years old when infected, suffered for years before successfully being diagnosed. And even after diagnosis, the family struggled to get the care they needed.

“I am a Bay Area mother who wrote Paris in Oakland to be a story of hope and encouragement to the Lyme community, something I desperately needed when my daughter was first diagnosed and I was trying to understand the controversies and confusion surrounding Lyme. 

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.

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.

California Strains of Lyme Bacteria May Survive Antibiotic Treatment, According to New Study

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

California Strains of Lyme Bacteria May Survive Antibiotic Treatment, According to New Study

This new study funded by Bay Area Lyme Foundation identifies 20 FDA-approved compounds that are more effective in inhibiting persistent Lyme bacteria than standard treatment

Silicon Valley, CA, April 6, 2016—A laboratory study published today, funded by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation, is the first study to demonstrate that strains of Lyme bacteria present in California ticks are able to form persister bacteria, which do not respond well to treatment.  The study is also the first to identify FDA-approved therapies that may be more effective in inhibiting these specific strains of persister bacteria in the lab than doxycycline, the most commonly prescribed treatment for Lyme disease. The study was conducted by Stanford School of Medicine researchers and published in the Open Access publication Drug Design, Development and Therapy. View full study here: http://www.dovepress.com/articles.php?article_id=26319

Primary Care Medicine and the Challenges of Diagnosing Lyme Disease

By Bay Area Lyme

Bay-Area-Lyme-Foundation-Speaker-SeriesOn March 2nd, Bay Area Lyme again hosted another of its Speaker Series events. These popular salon-style events allow community members to come together in an intimate forum to share stories and hear directly from experts in the field.

The featured speakers this time were Dr. Christine Green, MD, a recognized leader in Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment and Allie Cashel, author of Suffering the Silence: Chronic Lyme Disease in an Age of Denial. Both shared personal and professional perspectives on the challenges of diagnosing Lyme disease.