Our Impact

Project Lyme has granted over $1,700,000 to Bay Area Lyme Foundation, in order to support the following researchers:

2018

• Brian R Crane, Ph.D., Cornell University, is focused on identifying an antimicrobial treatment by inhibiting the spirochete flagella hook cross-linking mechanism.
• Yuko Nakajima, Ph.D., Brandeis University, focuses on blocking immune evasion by Borrelia burgdorferi and other pathogens through gene conversion. Gene conversion was recently shown to be instrumental in Borrelia burgdorferi’s ability to change its surface proteins and thus keep the immune system from manufacturing antibodies.
• Geetha Parthasarathy, Ph.D., Tulane University, is focused on developing therapeutics for Lyme neuro-borreliosis. She will evaluate fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitors as therapeutic approaches. FGFR may mediate inflammation in the central nervous system and could be a supplemental therapy in acute Lyme neuro-borreliosis.
• Michal Caspi Tal, Ph.D., Stanford University, explores if B. burgdorferi has a CD47 mimic and if so, will determine the structure and sequence of that protein. She will examine how CD47 binds to the immune cell receptor and screen compounds that may be able to block this interaction so immune cells can eliminate B. burgdorferi.
• Yong Zhou, PhD, Institute for Systems Biology, explores the host response during acute and prolonged exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi with an emphasis on acute-phase proteins expressed in organs and tissues affected during infection.

2020

• Artem Rogovskyy, DVM, Ph.D., DACVM, Texas A&M University, is working to develop a robust, rapid diagnostic test that would surpass any of the existing Lyme disease diagnostic assays in its sensitivity and specificity. This research was published in February 2023. 
• Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D., the University of Texas at San Antonio, aims to use a variety of cutting-edge technologies that are directed at limiting or eliminating the survival and transmission of Lyme disease pathogen between ticks and reservoir hosts such as small rodents that sustain pathogen life cycle in nature.
• Flightpath Biosciences, Inc, will study clinical biomarkers for Persistent Lyme Disease (PLD). Recent research at Northeastern University has shown that changes in the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract may be predictive of PLD, which could lead to new tests.
• William Robinson, MD, Ph.D., Stanford University, studies the molecular mechanisms of autoimmune diseases and develops therapies to treat them.

2022

• Sapient Analytics will work to develop a chronic Lyme disease molecule marker.
• Emir Hodzic, Ph.D. of UC Davis is partnering with Duke University to evaluate the efficacy of tethered inhibitors of HtpG for eliminating Borrelia burgdorferi infection in a mouse model.
• Artem Rogocsky DVM, Ph.D., and Dzmitry Kurouski, Ph.D. of Texas A&M University will work to validate the Raman spectroscopy-based approach for the diagnosis of Lyme disease.
• Monica Embers, Ph.D. of Tulane will work to identify seven combination therapies that are superior to courses of single antibiotics for treating persistent Lyme disease in an investigational model. This research was published in November 2023.
• Geetha Parthasarathy, Ph.D. of Tulane will assess the fibroblast growth factor system in human biological fluids as novel biomarkers of Lyme disease.
• Kerry Clark, Ph.D. of North Florida is searching for tick-borne pathogens in Rocky Mountain Wood ticks in the Bitterroot Mountains of Western Montana.

2023

• Tim Haystead, Ph.D., Duke University, is working to develop novel small molecule inhibitors that target the Borrelia burgdorferi’s proteins and eliminate the bacteria by destroying its DNA. By attaching fluorescent chemical compounds called fluorophores to these inhibitors, scientists can also use them as a diagnostic tool to detect the presence of Lyme disease. This project was published in November 2023.
• Geetha Parthasarathy, Ph.D., Tulane University, is focused on developing therapeutics for Lyme neuro-borreliosis. She will evaluate fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitors as therapeutic approaches. FGFR may mediate inflammation in the central nervous system and could be a supplemental therapy in acute Lyme neuro-borreliosis. This is our second time providing funds to this project and the research is ongoing.

We collaborate with Bay Area Lyme because of its rigorous science agenda. Project Lyme is excited to have contributed funds cutting edge research through to these multi-year projects which they manage and look forward to sharing the findings with our community. We are grateful for this partnership which continues to demonstrate progress against tick-borne diseases, one of the most important health crises of our time.