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Lyme Disease Seed Grant Projects

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is pleased to support this seed grant program to advance research and innovation in Lyme disease. The seed grant program seeks to broadly stimulate research on Lyme disease, with the goals of sparking new means of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the condition and of examining the impact of Lyme disease in the lives of individuals, families, and communities. 

2020 Research on Lyme Disease

Impact of habitat fragmentation on Lyme disease entomological hazard and human Lyme disease incidence in California landscapes

Co-PIs: Giulio De Leo and Stephen Felt

The investigative team includes Susanne H Sokolow, Max Allan McClure, Andy Chamberlin, Krti Tallam, and Kaitlyn Mitchell.

Teleyoga for Lyme Disease

PI: Jerome A. Yesavage, MD

The investigative team includes Peter J. Bayley, PhD and Erika S. Tomlinson, PsyD

Correlation of Lyme Incidence with Meteorological Alterations Throughout the Eastern United States, 2003 – 2018 (CLIMATE).

Co-PIs: Grant S Lipman, MD, FACEP and James Marvel MD

The investigative team includes Caleb Phillips, PhD, Lisa Couper, James Quinn, MD, Ewan Wang, MD, and Erin Mordecai, PhD.

2018 Research on Lyme Disease

Proteome-wide Profiling of Borrelia Burgdorferi to Identify Temperature Sensitive Modulators of Infection and Persistence

PI: Balyn Wood Zaro, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar in the Stem Cell Bio Regenerative Department

Evaluating GABA depletion as the major cause for symptomatic pain, fatigue, and brain fog in post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) using disulfiram treatment

PI: Lawrence Steinman, MD
Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences in the Neurology Department

The investigative team includes John Wesson Ashford, a Clinical Professor (affiliated) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Jayakumar Rajadas, Director, BioADD and Assistant Director of CV Pharmacology in the Diomaterials and Advanced Drug Delivery laboratory.

Functional MRI and sensory evaluation of central mechanisms of chronic pain associated with Lyme disease

PI: Danielle D. DeSouza, MSc, PhD
Instructor in the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences

Investigating the Sexual Transmission and Developmental Consequences of Borrelia burgdorferi

PI: Victoria Mascetti PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar in the Stem Cell Bio Regenerative Department

The investigative team includes Michal Tal Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Stem Cell Bio Regenerative Department and Maia Shoham, Life Science Research Professional at the Stem Cell Bio Regenerative Med Institute.

2017 Research on Lyme Disease

Biomechanical alterations of endothelial cells infected with Borrelia burgdorferi

PI: Effie E. Bastounis PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biochemistry

Novel microneedle patch development for detection of Borrelia burgdorferi

PI: Michal Caspi Tal PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine

Stem Cell Model of Lyme Carditis

PI: Nazish Sayed MD, PhD
Instructor in the Cardiovascular Institute

The investigative team includes Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD., is Director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Jayakumar Rajadas, Director, BioADD and Assistant Director of CV Pharmacology in the Diomaterials and Advanced Drug Delivery laboratory and Edward S Mocarski, PhD., consultant and professor at Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University.