With 2018 drawing to a close, I want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of our community. Your generous support—whether in research dollars, program participation, or simply standing in solidarity with us as we move closer to a Lyme-free world—is deeply appreciated.
As the leading 501(c)(3) dedicated to conquering Lyme and tick-borne diseases through research, education and awareness, Global Lyme Alliance seeks to bring us all closer to improved diagnostics, more effective treatments, and a cure. Earlier in the year we announced that we had surpassed the $10 million mark in research grant funding. In 2018 alone, we awarded close to $2 million in research grants to 15 researchers at leading national academic and medical institutions.
We are fortunate to have many talented partners. More than 35 are leading researchers from world-class institutions. For many—Drs. Kim Lewis, Ying Zhang, and John Aucott among them—GLA was the first grant-making organization to invest in their research. Our Scientific Advisory Board, comprised of 16 of the world’s top researchers and clinical innovators, works diligently to guide us toward those studies which have the greatest likelihood of delivering significant, marketable advances.
GLA-funded scientists have achieved many advances this year, including progress in the development of a reliable diagnostic test; identifying potentially new therapeutic drugs, and exploring drug combinations that successfully attack “persister” cells, which successfully evade conventional antibiotic treatment, as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
We have increased tick awareness levels through robust educational initiatives involving physicians, teachers, summer camps, and the general public. And we are particularly proud of our partnership with Ivy Oaks Analytics™ which has worked with GLA to reach more than 125,000 children (and their families) at 150 summer camps in 8 states through our “Be Tick AWARE” Program, the only such program of its kind.
A few highlights from 2018
Our thanks, too, to colleagues in the Lyme world—including but not limited to Focus on Lyme, Alex Hudson Lyme Foundation, LivLyme, LymeDisease.org—who are vital associates in our largely collaborative effort to address a baleful threat which puts our vulnerable children at highest risk.
Thanks, too, to our passionate fundraisers, including our major donors, event sponsors, our athletic endurance program participants, Education Ambassadors, our thousands of first-time annual donors, and our celebrity partners who have helped us reach more than 10 million people through strategic outreach efforts. I want to single out our newest partner, The Avril Lavigne Foundation, with whom we will grow out vital outreach efforts. And a special thanks to our hard-working Board of Directors, including our newest members Avril Lavigne, Nancy Del Genio, and Peter Norley.
We hope you are as proud of GLA’s accomplishments as we are. If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to read about our just launched “Lyme is Real” year-end fundraising and awareness campaign. And remember, a year-end gift is fully tax deductible. Together in partnership, we can keep the momentum going to beat this disease!
Happy Holidays,
Scott Santarella
CEO
Global Lyme Alliance
