Lyme disease affects an estimated 476,000 Americans annually, yet the scientific infrastructure around it has lagged far behind its burden. Funding has historically been limited, standard tests miss a significant percentage of early cases, and no definitively effective treatment exists for patients who develop persistent symptoms after antibiotic therapy. Project Lyme was founded specifically to address these gaps.
The State of the Science
Lyme disease research has advanced substantially over the past decade, but critical questions remain unanswered:
- Diagnostics: The two-tier testing protocol (ELISA followed by Western blot) has a sensitivity of roughly 30–50% in the first few weeks of infection. New biomarker-based tests are in development but not yet widely available.
- Persistence and PTLDS: Why some patients develop persistent symptoms after treatment remains contested and incompletely understood. Leading hypotheses include residual bacterial components, immune dysregulation, microbiome disruption, and possibly bacterial persistence in certain tissue niches.
- Treatment: Standard antibiotic regimens are highly effective for most early-stage patients, but there is no well-validated treatment protocol for late-stage or treatment-resistant disease.
- Prevention: No licensed Lyme vaccine exists for humans in the US as of 2024, though several candidates are in clinical trials.
Where Project Lyme Fits
Project Lyme funds researchers who are addressing these gaps directly. Our Scientific Advisory Board reviews all grant applications to ensure rigorous scientific standards. We fund work that other, less flexible sources cannot — early-stage exploratory research, cross-disciplinary projects, and investigators whose work has direct translational potential for patients.
What This Means for Patients
Research progress takes time, but it is happening. Each funded project moves the scientific understanding forward — which means better tests, better treatments, and eventually, better outcomes for the people living with this disease.
Plain Language Summaries
All funded research summaries on this site are written in plain language accessible to people without a scientific background. We believe patients deserve to understand the science being done on their behalf.