Global Lyme Alliance, Inc.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Lyme disease is a public health crisis. There are an estimated 427,000 new cases of Lyme in the U.S. each year, with an estimated two million people suffering from post-treatment Lyme disease by the end of 2020. Compound this with the cases of all tick-borne disease, we have reached pandemic proportions. Even when diagnosed and treated early, up to 20% of patients remain ill. GLA is focused to find answers through science that will provide accurate diagnostics and effective treatment options.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Medical Research Grants
National grant-making program funds cutting-edge research into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.
Education and Awareness Programs
Fund programs to create awareness and better educate the public about Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
Where we work
Awards
Light a Fire 2008
Moffley Publications
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of mentees being supported by Mentors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Education and Awareness Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We offer a peer-to-peer mentoring program for patients seeking counsel from peer patients
Number of mentors as part of our peer-to-peer mentoring program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Education and Awareness Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We engage with mentors to help provide peer-to-peer patient mentoring
Number of Ambassadors helping educate local communities
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Education and Awareness Programs
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We have an Ambassador program that helps GLA message it's mission and provide educational information to their local communities
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our Mission: Cure Lyme and other tick-borne diseases through innovative research, awareness, and
empowering the patient voice.
Our Vision: A world free of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
GLA RESEARCH PROGRAM OVERVIEW
• We have funded nearly 50 scientists from academia and biotech companies.
• GLA-funded researchers have published more than 150 articles in over 70 scientific and medical peer-reviewed journals. These publications create ripples of change throughout the scientific community and propel vector-borne disease research forward
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Understanding of the knowledge needs in medical research into Lyme disease
Familiar with the work of each leading scientist and research center making advances to scientific understanding of tick borne diseases
Highly qualified scientific review board including a Nobel prize winner
Capability to raise significant funds through private donors, corporate support and high-profile events
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
TRANSFORMATIVE DISCOVERIES RESULTING FROM GLA FUNDING
2015
Microbiology/Persistence: Kim Lewis, PhD (Distinguished Professor, Northeastern University) reported that Borrelia burgdorferi can tolerate exposure to certain antibiotics. Similar studies conducted by another GLA-backed researcher at Johns Hopkins University demonstrated that although the Lyme bacteria was tolerant of exposure to antibiotics, they were sensitive to and killed by certain herbal essential oils. This research lent support to the idea that persistence of bacteria might explain why some patients suffer from chronic symptoms of Lyme disease even after being treated.
2016
Innovative Diagnostics: GLA hosted a groundbreaking conference that brought together experts from the NIH, CDC, FDA, and academic researchers from around the country to discuss Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease. Their extensive discussions resulted in two foundational publications: One explained that the widely used FDA-approved, CDC two-tiered test for Lyme disease diagnosis was suboptimal and that new tests needed to be developed. The second argued the need for direct diagnostic testing of early Lyme patients. As a result, academic researchers as well as biotech and pharmaceutical companies have begun development of a new generation of Lyme diagnostics tests.
2017
Clinical Studies: Post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) represents a subset of patients who remain ill following standard antibiotic therapy. As part of the SLICE study, Dr. Aucott was the first to use physical exam and clinical laboratory testing coupled with standardized symptom questionnaires to identify and characterize this unique and growing patient population. Dr. Aucott’s work has profoundly advanced our understanding of persistent Lyme disease by clearly defining the clinical features of PTLD patients.
2018
Neurological Lyme disease: Brian Fallon, MD (Director, Columbia University Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Research Center) collaborated with Michael Benros, MD (Head, Biological and Precision Psychiatry at Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Denmark) and published a groundbreaking study of >12,000 Lyme disease patients in whom rates of mental and affective disorders, suicide attempts, and suicide were significantly higher than patients without Lyme.
2019
Clinical Studies: Accumulating Numbers of PTLD Cases: Despite the negative impact of PTLD on an individual’s quality of life, no systematic attempt to calculate the number of these patients had ever been undertaken. To better understand the scope of the problem, GLA teamed up with Brown University to use mathematical models to estimate the PTLD population to be as many as ~two million patients by the end of 2020.
2021
Microbiology Persistence: Monica Embers, PhD (National Primate Research Center, Tulane University) found Lyme bacteria in post-mortem brain tissue of a chronic, neurological Lyme patient who was treated with antibiotics.
Please visit: GLA.org for more information.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Global Lyme Alliance, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 12/23/2022
Mr. Paul Ross
Dana McAvity
Janet Vaccaro
Charles Balducci
Henry Dosch
Staci Grodin
Diane Blanchard
David Gerstner
Brett Kristoff
Robert Kobre
Lewis Leone
Steve Martin
Lorrie Nadel
Ed O'Connell
Karen Peetz
Paul Ross
Norma Russo
Debbie Siciliano
David Nolan
Peter Norley
Alexander Tisch
Nancy Del Genio
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No