Lyme Disease has been an escalating problem since the 1960s in the United States and Canada. Almost since the time of its discovery, there has been a vast divide between the patient and medical communities. The G. Magnotta Lyme Disease Research Lab now has a unique opportunity to bridge that divide.
Our research mandate is giving a voice to people who have felt marginalized for a very long time. We're doing this by asking hard and controversial questions and bringing rigorous, high-quality scientific investigation to bear on pressing issues. The union of patient-centered investigation with fundamental sciences like microbiology, biochemistry and genetics is a powerful catalyst for change. Not only are patients and advocates represented at the level of study, design and execution but also in the downstream applications. Our goal is to have a profound impact on how Lyme Disease will be tested and treated in Canada and around the world.
One important point to remember about Lyme Disease: It is entirely indiscriminate.
As far as we are currently aware, it does not strike a defined population of people. Anyone who ventures outside is potentially at risk. That means the impact of our research will not be limited to the people who currently have Lyme Disease today. Our work is poised to affect those who live in expanding tick-endemic zones and find themselves at risk in the future. We are aiming to improve a person’s capacity to enter a clinic and get a test that will accurately report infection status after having been bitten by a tick.
That will be a game-changer in the field of Lyme Disease and clinical applications.
Our research mandate is giving a voice to people who have felt marginalized for a very long time. We're doing this by asking hard and controversial questions and bringing rigorous, high-quality scientific investigation to bear on pressing issues.