bay area lyme Archives - Bay Area Lyme Foundation

New Peer-Reviewed Publication Highlights Evidence of Mother-to-Child-Transmission of Lyme Disease Bacteria During Pregnancy and Calls for Urgent Research

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Peer-Reviewed Publication Highlights Evidence of Mother-to-Child-Transmission of Lyme Disease Bacteria During Pregnancy and Calls for Urgent Research

New paper in Frontiers in Medicine reports results of meeting of international researchers at the Banbury Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., April 9, 2026 –Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a national nonprofit and leading sponsor of tick-borne disease research in the US, today announced publication of a new peer-reviewed article in Frontiers in Medicine examining the transmission of the Lyme bacteria during pregnancy. The publication points to observational research demonstrating that Lyme bacteria are capable of being transmitted from mother to unborn child and recognition by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the potential for mother-to-child transmission. With approximately 500,000 Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year and the related correlation of transmission during pregnancy being associated with serious adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as miscarriage, stillbirth, or congenital infection that occur in some cases, the paper concludes that the clinical impact of Lyme disease on pregnancy and infant health is an important public health issue that has been insufficiently studied.

“As an infectious disease pediatrician, I have seen firsthand the impact of Lyme disease in children and have suspected that the infection may have been passed from mother to child during pregnancy in a number of my patients, based on their medical histories,” said Charlotte Mao, MD, of Bay Area Lyme Foundation and a co-author of the study. “The first case studies of mother-to-child transmission were observed in the 1980s, yet decades later, we still lack sufficient research and clear, evidence-based guidance on Lyme in pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes. This is an important public health issue and underscores the urgent need for rigorous studies to fully understand the risks and support patients and healthcare providers in making informed decisions that better protect maternal and infant health.”

Study authors highlight the great need for real-world studies clarifying how Lyme Borrelia, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the US, behaves during pregnancy, and quantifying the outcomes for mothers and infants. Specifically, the paper suggests the creation of large, prospective studies of pregnant individuals with Lyme disease, including systematic long-term clinical follow-up of their children, as well as the importance of collecting biological samples from mothers, placentas, and infants through coordinated biorespositories for use in current or future studies.

Dr. Somer DelSignore: Congenital Lyme, PANS/PANDAS & Hope for Families

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Somer Delsignore, DNP

Dr. Somer Delsignore, DNP, is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in complex chronic illness in children. Her clinical work focuses on the diagnosis and management of immune dysfunction using a root-cause approach. She developed the R.E.S.E.T. Protocol using a Root Cause lens to treat Immune Dysfunction systematically. A fellow of MAPS and AAOT and a member of ILADS, her expertise includes autoimmune, neuroimmune, and psychiatric manifestations of infectious diseases, especially tick-borne illnesses, as well as links to Autism Spectrum Disorder, PANS/PANDAS, and autoimmune encephalopathy. Delsignore completed her graduate and doctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania and SUNY Upstate Medical University, graduating magna and summa cum laude, and trained at leading pediatric centers, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Penn State Children’s, and Children’s Health in Dallas. She is the CEO and Founder of Hudson Valley Integrative Health in Beacon, New York.

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A Leader Who Understands the Journey: Welcoming David Walsey as Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s New Executive Director

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Bay Area Lyme Spotlight Series

“Science drives our mission, but patient stories remind us why the science matters.”

– David Walsey

As David Walsey steps into his new role as Executive Director of Bay Area Lyme Foundation, he brings more than professional expertise. He brings lived experience of diagnostic uncertainty, immune dysfunction, co-infections, and the long arc many families travel before answers emerge. For patients, caregivers, and supporters of Bay Area Lyme, David’s leadership signals both continuity and momentum: a future rooted in rigorous science, compassionate leadership, and hope grounded in progress. “It’s been a long journey to get here,” David says. “We’ve spent nearly a decade navigating tick-borne disease as a family. That experience changed everything for us.” Dana Parish interviewed David as part of our Ticktective^™ video podcast series. Watch or listen to the complete interview.

When Symptoms Don’t Fit the Textbook

Nearly ten years ago, David’s son began experiencing a constellation of symptoms that defied easy explanation. Despite multiple medical evaluations, no unifying diagnosis emerged. When Lyme disease was finally identified, the family initially felt relief. “I thought this was a solvable, short-term problem,” David recalls. “You treat it, and life goes back to normal.”

Improving Lyme Diagnostics, Biomarkers, and Treatment: Inside Dr. Peter Gwynne’s Research

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Bay Area Lyme Leading the Way series

“I wanted to be doing work that was driven by clinical need… and there are a lot of clinical needs in Lyme disease.”

– Peter Gwynne, PhD

For too many people with Lyme disease, the journey begins with uncertainty. A missed rash. A negative test. Symptoms that don’t make sense. A diagnosis that comes too late, or not at all. Bay Area Lyme Foundation believes this must change. And we believe change happens through funding rigorous science, innovative thinking, and supporting researchers willing to tackle the hardest questions head-on.

One of those scientists is Tufts researcher Peter Gwynne, PhD, a microbiologist whose work sits at the cutting edge of Lyme research and is the recipient of our 2022 Emerging Leader Award. We spoke with Dr. Gwynne to get an inside look at his work and understand how this may impact Lyme patients in the future. His focus is simple to state but complex to achieve: develop better diagnostics, identify meaningful biomarkers, and move the field toward treatments and even prevention strategies that could fundamentally reshape how Lyme disease is understood and managed.

Drawn to Lyme by the Urgency of the Need

Dr. Gwynne did not begin his career in Lyme disease. He trained in molecular microbiology, studying pathogens such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus, the bacteria responsible for serious infections, including those often acquired in hospital settings. But over time, he found himself seeking work that could make a tangible difference for patients.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Highlights Research Leadership and Momentum in Tick-Borne Disease, Names New Executive Director

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Highlights Research Leadership and Momentum in Tick-Borne Disease, Names New Executive Director

Milestones include FDA-cleared diagnostics enabled by Lyme Disease Biobank, the launch of Bay Area Lyme Ventures, and 10 years since Lyme Disease Biobank provided its first samples, advancing the field

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., February 11, 2026 –Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a national nonprofit and leading sponsor of tick-borne disease research, today reflected on concrete progress in 2025 that demonstrates the maturation of more than a decade of investment in diagnostics, therapeutics, and research infrastructure for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. As Bay Area Lyme Foundation-supported programs advance towards being available for clinicians and patients, the organization announced David A. Walsey, JD, LLM, as Executive Director. He has extensive experience offering strategic guidance to life sciences companies and a personal connection to Lyme disease that will help guide the foundation’s next phase of scientific translation and organizational growth.

In 2025, Bay Area Lyme Foundation reached an important inflection point as new diagnostic tests enabled by the foundation’s Lyme Disease Biobank secured FDA clearance. These new tests highlight the potential to move from discovery-stage research toward tools that can meaningfully improve patient care. The organization also launched Bay Area Lyme Ventures, an investment arm designed to help promising diagnostics and therapeutics move more efficiently from the laboratory into real-world use, while also creating the opportunity for returns to support future Bay Area Lyme Foundation research. This progress underscores the importance of the more than $30 million in research Bay Area Lyme Foundation has invested at leading academic and medical institutions such as Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Tulane, and Duke. Research supported by the foundation has produced over 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications and sustained collaboration across top research centers nationwide.

Amy Offutt, MD: Lyme, Integrative Medicine, & True Healing

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Amy Offutt, MD

Dr. Offutt is the medical director and co-owner of Heart & Soul Integrative Health and Yoga which she co-founded with her husband, Brad, in 2007, located in Marble Falls, Texas. Her first seven years of practice were focused on rural family medicine and obstetrics after which she transitioned to approach the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases using integrative medicine. She completed medical school at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio and completed a residency in Family Medicine at Christus Health. She has completed a fellowship with the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and has a Master’s Degree in Integrative Medicine from George Washington University.

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Dr. Casey Kelley: From Lyme & Mold to Optimum Health

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Bay Area Lyme Spotlight Series

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In a powerful Ticktective™ episode, host Dana Parish sits down with Casey Kelley, MD, Founder and Medical Director of Case Integrative Health, to unpack the complex world of Lyme disease, mold toxicity, environmental illness, and whole-body healing. Dr. Kelley had her own health journey with chronic fatigue, POTS, and other symptoms that led her to specialize in Lyme, tick-borne diseases, mold illness, long COVID, and other complex chronic illnesses. She brings clarity, compassion, and years of integrative and functional medicine experience to help patients understand what’s driving persistent symptoms and what true recovery can look like.

“The nervous system is utterly important to healing. And that entire system gets really thrown off with chronic infections exactly the same way that trauma with a capital T will cause dysfunction in the system.”

– Casey Kelley, MD

A New Year Call to Action After December 15, 2025, HHS Roundtable

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Bay Area Lyme Spotlight Series

By Charlotte Mao, MD, MPH, Bay Area Lyme Foundation

“Chronic Lyme Disease patients have been ignored for too long. That must end now.”

– Charlotte Mao, MD, MPH

A Long-Overdue Moment of Recognition

Starting in 2026, Lyme disease and other tick-borne disease patients and their families have some reason to be encouraged by the growing recognition of the realities they face and the prospect of continued research to support new diagnostics and treatments.

The December 15, 2025, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) roundtable marked something rare and long overdue: federal recognition of patient need, grounded in scientific evidence presented by researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates. But patients need more than another moment of recognition. They need results. In 2026, the question is whether that recognition will translate into sustained action, measurable progress, and real improvements in care.

Bay Area Lyme Foundation Statement on the HHS Lyme Disease Roundtable

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

The December 15, 2025, HHS roundtable on Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases placed long-overdue national attention on the millions of patients and families who have lived with an “invisible illness” for far too long. One of the clearest messages of the event was that the era of dismissing or gaslighting Lyme patients must end. This reflects what our community has endured for years.

Secretary Kennedy Convenes Lyme Disease Patients and Providers to Announce New Diagnostic Efforts

The Bay Area Lyme Foundation welcomes this federal focus on the urgent need for accurate diagnostics, rigorous patient-centered research, and better access to care, including the acknowledgment that Lyme disease qualifies as a chronic condition within Medicare care frameworks. These priorities closely align with, and have long guided, the work we have led for more than a decade.

We initiated the Lyme Disease Biobank, which is now a cornerstone resource for diagnostic and translational research across the country and has attracted significant support from the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation. Through additional philanthropic investment and scientific collaboration, Bay Area Lyme has also supported or co-funded many of the research advances referenced throughout the roundtable.

Better Tests, Better Answers

By Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Bay Area Lyme Leading the Way Series

“The IGeneX test is far more sensitive than most commercially available tests for Lyme disease, detecting far more positive patients compared to standard two-tier ELISA or Western Blot tests,”

– Jyotsna Shah, PhD

Click here to watch or listen now

For people living with or who suspect Lyme disease, getting a clear diagnosis can feel like the hardest part. Symptoms often mimic those of other illnesses, and traditional tests miss many cases.

In this episode of Ticktective™, Dr. Jyotsna Shah, President and Laboratory Director of IGeneX, shares with our host, Dana Parish, how her team is changing that—and how Bay Area Lyme Foundation helped make it possible.

Dr. Shah explains how partnerships between innovative labs like IGenex, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, and our Lyme Disease Biobank are helping deliver faster, more accurate diagnostics—and new hope for patients who’ve struggled for years to find answers.