Columbia Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center (2017)

The Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, established in 2007 by the Lyme Disease Association, Inc. and the Lyme Disease Alliance, Inc. (previously Time for Lyme, Inc), continues its focus on conducting research to identify better diagnostics and treatments for patients with chronic symptoms related to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

The research and clinical team includes neurologists, psychiatrists, rheumatologists, immunologists, brain imaging analysts, neuropsychologists, and biostatisticians. Current on-going or planned research is focused on further delineating the complex relationship between the immunologic response and the central nervous system in patients with chronic symptoms, testing novel treatment strategies (immune modulatory, brain stimulation, antibiotic), examining the long-term outcome of patients after treatment, identifying biomarkers that may aid in treatment selection, exploring post-mortem specimens from generous donors with well-documented Lyme disease, and collaborating on the development of new diagnostic assays.

In addition, the Center houses a specimen repository from patients with well-characterized Lyme disease and the Center staff educates medical students, residents, and post-residency fellows on the diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne diseases. The Center’s mission is facilitated by the members of its Scientific Advisory Board composed of scientists and clinicians from prominent academic institutions. The Center’s activities are supported by its Advisory Committee and by gifts from donors, private foundations, and state and federal sources. To learn more, go to www.columbia-lyme.org.

Columbia Team Members:
Avi Chandra, Charu Sood, Sonya Martin, Roger Hicks,Brian Fallon