Patricia V. Smith, BA

President, Lyme Disease Association, Inc.
Advisory Board, Columbia University
Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center
Jackson, NJ

Welcome, Remarks/Brief Overview of LDA, Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases

Pat Smith is in her 25th year as LDA President and has been a Lyme advocate for 37 years. After helping to write and pass legislation to establish the HHS Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, she served 4 years as a member, co-authoring two reports to Congress and co-chairing two subcommittees, and also served 4 years on the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) Programmatic Panel, having worked with Congress to get tick-borne diseases included in this Department of Defense program. Pat also testified before two Congressional Subcommittees on Lyme disease. In 2021, Pat worked with Congressman Chris Smith to get the CHILD Act 2021 introduced, amending the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to include Lyme and other tick-borne diseases as examples of disabilities−recognizing more clearly that the education of children is affected by Lyme disease to ensure they receive related services. She has briefed committees in both Houses of Congress over time, and spoken before the Women in Government conference.

Pat is former Chair, (NJ) Governor’s Lyme Disease Advisory Council and former president of the Wall Board of Education—also acted as an advocate in the schools for children with Lyme. She was Environmental Protection Agency’s PESP 2011 Lyme prevention conference session co-chair with CDC. In 2011 she presented a Lyme session to the New Jersey Education Association’s Annual Meeting. She is a founding member & former officer of ILADS, International Lyme & Associated Diseases Society, a professional medical and research organization. She served on the on-line journal Contagion Infectious Disease Today, Chronic Lyme Expert Panel video.

She has led LDA in its funding effort of 122 research grants, research which has appeared in 56 journals to date, and of many small educational grants helping other organizations with their programs. She worked with author Amy Tan to develop LDA’s LymeAid 4 Kids, supplying medical grants for financially disadvantaged families and developed LDA’s brochures: LymeR Primer; ABCs of Lyme Disease, for parents & educators; and Tick ID Card. She has published many articles on Lyme and tick-borne diseases, including co-authoring one read into the Congressional Record and has received recognition from Congress, and testified in many states on Lyme legislation.