Bay Area Lyme Foundation

What Bay Area Lyme Foundation does

Bay Area Lyme Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012 and headquartered in Portola Valley, California. The foundation's mission is to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure by funding scientific research, operating research infrastructure, and providing prevention education. It serves Lyme disease patients, researchers at academic and industry institutions, healthcare providers, and the broader public affected by tick-borne illness — a population estimated at roughly 620,000 new US cases annually, with cases reported in 65 countries.

The foundation operates a vertically integrated research-acceleration platform spanning basic science funding, biospecimen distribution, clinical trials, and commercialization. Core programs include the Lyme Disease Biobank (the nation's first, with 25,000+ samples distributed to 125 approved research projects), the Emerging Leader Award grant program (grants ranging $150,000-$300,000), the UCSF-affiliated Clinical Trials Center, the Citizen Science Free Tick Testing Program, and educational content via the Ticktective podcast and video library. Since inception, the foundation has awarded over $30M in grants across more than 100 projects at 37 institutions and enabled FDA clearance for new diagnostic tests. In 2025 the foundation launched Bay Area Lyme Ventures, an impact investment arm that made its first strategic investment in Galaxy Diagnostics in June 2026.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations, grants, and event-based fundraising, with 100% of donor contributions directed to research and prevention because the LaureL Foundation covers all administrative expenses. Annual events include LymeAid (which raised $900,000 in 2026), Polo for Lyme, and Hops & Harmony. The organization is led by co-founders Laure L. Woods and Bonnie Crater as Co-Chairs of the Board, with David A. Walsey appointed Executive Director in 2025 succeeding Linda Giampa. Key strategic partners include the LaureL Foundation, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Project Lyme, Center for Lyme Action, and NDRI.

Name

Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Legal name

Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Website

https://bayarealyme.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bay Area Lyme Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2012 that funds Lyme disease research, operates the nation's first Lyme Disease Biobank, runs prevention education programs, and deploys impact investments through Bay Area Lyme Ventures to advance tick-borne disease diagnostics and therapeutics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Disease Research Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Lyme disease research
• Biospecimen biobank services
• Research grant funding
• Tick-borne disease prevention
• Nonprofit health foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Portola Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Bay Area Lyme Foundation operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization funded entirely through donations and grants. Thanks to the LaureL Foundation covering administrative expenses, 100% of donor contributions go directly to research and prevention programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Bay Area Lyme Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that funds Lyme disease research, distributes biospecimens through the nation's first Lyme Disease Biobank, supports early-career scientists via the Emerging Leader Award program, conducts clinical trials through a partnership with UCSF, invests in diagnostics and therapeutics companies through Bay Area Lyme Ventures, and delivers prevention education and tick-borne disease awareness to the public.

Product overview

Bay Area Lyme Foundation operates as a nonprofit research accelerator focused on making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure. The organization functions as a platform of interconnected programs: the Lyme Disease Biobank provides research samples to academic and industry researchers; the Emerging Leader Award provides grant funding to early-career scientists; Bay Area Lyme Ventures (launched 2025) invests in companies bringing diagnostics and therapeutics to market; the Clinical Trials Center at UCSF supports clinical development; and the Citizen Science Tick Testing Program engages the public in disease surveillance. Educational offerings include the Ticktective podcast/video series and an educational video library. Together, these programs form a comprehensive ecosystem supporting Lyme disease research from basic science through commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lyme Disease Biobank: A biobank providing blood, urine, and tissue samples to researchers studying Lyme disease and tick-borne infections. Approaching 10-year anniversary with over 25,000 samples distributed to 125 approved research projects.
• Bay Area Lyme Ventures
• Ticktective
• Emerging Leader Award
• LymeAid

Products and services

• Lyme Disease Biobank A national biospecimen repository that collects and distributes blood, urine, and tissue samples from Lyme disease patients and controls to support academic and industry research projects. The Biobank has distributed over 25,000 samples to support 125 approved research projects and contributed to FDA clearance of new Lyme diagnostic tests.
• Emerging Leader Award

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $30M in grants awarded across 100+ projects from 37 institutions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, strategic and supporting.

• Project LymecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Lyme focuses on prevention and awareness. Since 2018, Bay Area Lyme's Science Committee became the research arm of Project Lyme. Each year they co-host the NYC Gala, with significant funds raised donated to Bay Area Lyme supporting science grants. To date Project Lyme has raised over $1.5M on behalf of Bay Area Lyme.
• Center for Lyme ActionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2019, Bay Area Lyme Foundation, Alexandra Cohen, Project Lyme, and Laure Woods created Center for Lyme Action as a founding charter member to grow federal funding for Lyme disease. Bay Area Lyme serves as a charter member of this advocacy organization.
• National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDRI partners with the Lyme Disease Biobank to obtain biospecimens from all body systems, enabling prospective procurement and project-specific collection protocols for biomedical research.
• California State ParkssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to provide tick-bite prevention education and training to California State Parks employees and the communities they serve through programs and materials.
• San Mateo County ParkssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for public organizations and community education providers to deliver tick-bite prevention information to employees and the communities they serve.
• UCSF Clinical Trials CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with UCSF for conducting clinical trials on Lyme disease diagnostics and treatments, supporting the translation of research from laboratory to clinical application.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LymeDisease.org: National advocacy and education nonprofit focused on Lyme disease patient rights and research funding. Comparable disease-specific nonprofit operating in patient education and policy advocacy adjacent to Bay Area Lyme's mission.
• American Lyme Disease Foundation: Long-standing nonprofit focused on Lyme disease research, education, and prevention. Directly comparable disease-specific mission and educational outreach model to Bay Area Lyme Foundation.
• Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation: Major donor to Bay Area Lyme and a significant independent funder of Lyme disease research. Comparable philanthropic model with strong commitment to Lyme/tick-borne disease funding, making it both a partner and a parallel funder.
• Project Lyme: Nonprofit focused on Lyme prevention and awareness whose Science Committee research arm is operated by Bay Area Lyme Foundation. Closely aligned mission and donor base; funds co-raised with Bay Area Lyme at the NYC Gala.
• Global Lyme Alliance: Another leading US-based nonprofit foundation dedicated exclusively to Lyme and tick-borne disease research, education, and patient support. Highly comparable mission, donor base, and grantmaking model to Bay Area Lyme Foundation.
• Center for Lyme Action: Federal funding advocacy coalition co-founded by Bay Area Lyme and Project Lyme leadership. Comparable advocacy and policy mission aimed at growing federal tick-borne disease research appropriations.

Broad incumbents

• CDC Foundation: Independent nonprofit supporting CDC's infectious disease work, including vector-borne illness surveillance. Operates as a much larger public-health grantmaking entity with overlapping missions in tick-borne disease prevention.
• Infectious Diseases Society of America: Professional medical society that funds and disseminates research across infectious diseases including Lyme. Broader scope but overlapping scientific advisory and clinical research community relevant to Bay Area Lyme's clinical and diagnostics programs.
• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Disease-specific nonprofit research accelerator that pioneered venture philanthropy and Biobank models in CF. Comparable in grantmaking-plus-impact-investing model and accelerating rare/infectious disease diagnostics and therapeutics to market.

Others

• L.K. Whittier Foundation: Private foundation where Bay Area Lyme founder Laure Woods serves on the Board. Comparable grantmaking/charitable giving structure and overlapping board, though not disease-specific.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BayAreaLyme
• Facebookfacebook.com/BayAreaLymeFoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/bayarealyme
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bay-area-lyme-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bay Area Lyme Foundation