About Us

The Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center was established in 2007 through a joint effort of Columbia University, Global Lyme Alliance, and the Lyme Disease Association, Inc. As the first academic research center in the country to focus multidisciplinary research on the chronic aspects of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, this Center demonstrates the Medical Center's commitment to using the latest scientific tools to fight this rapidly spreading disease. Because patients with chronic persistent symptoms have not been included in most research studies around the country, and because these patients are among the most disabled of all patients with Lyme disease, the two non-profit Lyme disease organizations rallied their efforts to establish this research center at Columbia University. The mission of this center ensures that leading researchers at one of the foremost academic research centers internationally are given the resources to focus their research efforts on unraveling the mysteries of these illnesses.

Our Mission

In recognition that a growing number of patients experience ongoing or relapsing symptoms after having been treated for Lyme disease, in recognition that diagnostic tests often do not provide definitive information regarding the presence or absence of infection, and in recognition that there are multiple possible mechanisms by which symptoms persist, the mission of this center has a particular focus on identifying better diagnostic assays, better treatments, and a better pathophysiologic understanding of the mechanisms of symptom persistence.