PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif.,
May 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
"While it is extremely disheartening to see the rise in
tick-borne diseases across the US, we are encouraged by the
involvement of more researchers in trying to solve the mysteries of
this disease and growing awareness of the general public," said
Linda Giampa, executive director,
Bay Area Lyme Foundation. "We are immensely appreciative of how the
combined efforts of the science, environmental, technology and
financial communities attending LymeAid make our important research
programs possible."
Kristen T. Honey, PhD, who holds
positions with The White House Office of Management &
Budget, Stanford University, and
co-founder of Lyme Innovation, shared the challenges she faced
in being diagnosed with Lyme disease after more than 10 years of
misdiagnoses. Ultimately disabled from Lyme between 2009 and 2012,
Kristen outlined her hopes for the future with patient-powered
medicine and emerging public-private
partnerships providing a path forward to contain and cure Lyme
disease.
As master of ceremonies for this year's LymeAid, actor
Alec Baldwin, kept the crowd
laughing throughout the event, but also shared some sobering
statistics about Lyme disease along with his personal experiences
with the disease.
"We need more researchers to help us find a cure, or at least a
treatment that works for more people," said Alec Baldwin, who is
known for his comedic talent as well as his defense of the
environment on Long Island. "Lyme disease is so much more
common than the statistics suggest – I have family and friends with
Lyme disease in NY, LA and everywhere in between."
A deeply committed environmental activist and Grammy award
winning writing and recording artist, Kenny Loggins entertained the
enthusiastic LymeAid crowd with his songs, "Conviction of the
Heart" and "Footloose", among other hits.
The event also afforded attendees the opportunity to learn more
about Lyme disease by interacting with:
- Pathogen hunter Pardis Sabeti, MD, DPhil of Harvard University and MIT, who explained how she and her lab colleagues
will leverage their experience with Ebola, Lassa fever and
Babesia using the latest in gene sequencing techniques, to provide
much needed information on which Lyme disease strains are
circulating in patients. In addition, she will sequence any
additional but uncharacterized pathogens found in Lyme disease
patient samples. Highlighted as the Fund-In-Need, this
research garnered significant attention from attendees anxious to
advance research toward new information about Lyme disease
co-infections.
- Liz Horn, PhD, MBI, principal
investigator, Lyme Disease Biobank, who was joined by medical
professionals from Direct Urgent Care, to explain how the Lyme
Disease Biobank is advancing Lyme disease research. Initial
funding for the biobank came from funds raised at LymeAid 2014
specifically for this important research effort.
- Nate Nieto, PhD, Assistant Professor, Northern Arizona University, who shared insights
related to the research resulting from the Free Tick Testing
Citizen Study, another program funded by Bay Area Lyme
Foundation.
- Ally Hilfiger, who experienced eleven years of misdiagnosis and
debilitating Lyme disease symptoms. Allie signed copies of
her book, "Bite Me: How Lyme Disease Stole My Childhood, Made Me
Crazy and Almost Killed Me."
Laure Woods and Bonnie Crater, founders of Bay Area Lyme
Foundation, awarded $350,000 in
Emerging Leader Award grants, which are designed to attract
promising researchers to the study of Lyme disease.
- James J. Collins, Ph.D.,
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology was presented with the Alexandra Cohen Emerging
Leader Award and a $250,000 grant to
research an RNA direct detection diagnostic for early Lyme
disease
- Yuko Nakajima, Ph.D.,
Postdoctoral Fellow, Brandeis
University received the Laure Woods Emerging Leader Award
and a $100,000 grant to investigate
potential treatments to block immune evasion by the bacteria
causing Lyme disease.
The scientists and clinicians who participated in the event
included Bay Area Lyme Foundation Scientific Advisory Board
members: John Aucott, MD,
Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine; Monica E. Embers, PhD, Tulane
University Health Sciences; Christine Green, MD, clinician and William Robinson, MD, PhD, Stanford
University.
Other researchers and medical professionals in attendance are
also making incredible contributions to Lyme disease research,
including Sunjya Schweig, MD, Andreas Koglenik, MD, PhD of Open
Medicine Institute, Dan Salkeld,
PhD, Colorado State University; and
Jayakumar Rajadas, PhD, Stanford Lyme Working Group.
Arlene Inch, Jane Inch, Lucy
Kuchen, Carolyn Margiotti,
Lisa Najarian, and Kathleen O'Rourke were chairs of the event,
along with Laure Woods, who hosted
the event at her home in Portola
Valley.
Honorary hosts included: Daryl
Hall, Elet Hall, Jon &
Pete Najarian, Jane Seymour, Dana
Parish, Davorin Kuchan,
Elaine Mellis, Gib &
Susan Myers, Jennie Savage, Kirsten & Josh Stein, Mason
Tenaglia, and Amy Rao &
Harry Plant.
Premier event sponsors included: Whittier Trust,
Salesforce, Jaguar and Land Rover of San
Francisco and Redwood City. Other event sponsors
included: McEvoy Ranch, Erin Mac
Jewelry, Benovia Wine, CNBC's Fast Money and Halftime
Report.
About Lyme disease
One of the fastest growing vector-borne infectious diseases in
the United States, Lyme disease is
a potentially debilitating infection caused by bacteria transmitted
through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets. If caught
early, most cases of Lyme disease can be effectively treated, but
it is commonly misdiagnosed due to lack of awareness and unreliable
diagnostic tests. There are approximately 329,000 new cases of Lyme
disease each year, according to statistics released in 2015 by the
CDC. As a result of the difficulty in diagnosing and treating Lyme
disease, as many as one million Americans may be suffering from the
impact of its debilitating long-term symptoms and complications,
according to Bay Area Lyme Foundation estimates.
About Bay Area Lyme Foundation
Bay Area Lyme
Foundation, a national organization committed to making Lyme
disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, is the leading public
not-for-profit sponsor of innovative Lyme disease research in the
US. A 501c3 non-profit organization based in Silicon Valley,
Bay Area Lyme collaborates with world-class scientists and
institutions to accelerate medical breakthroughs for Lyme disease.
It is also dedicated to providing reliable, fact-based information
so that prevention and the importance of early treatment are common
knowledge. A pivotal donation from The Laurel STEM Fund
covers all overhead costs and allows for 100% of all donor
contributions to Bay Area Lyme Foundation to go directly to
research and prevention programs. For more information about Lyme
disease or to get involved, visit www.bayarealyme.org or call
650-530-2439.
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SOURCE Bay Area Lyme Foundation