Understanding Lyme disease immune signals to predict recovery after antibiotics
Official title: Unlocking serology’s secrets: harnessing novel immune biomarkers to predict Lyme disease progression and recovery
Funded at Massachusetts Institute of Technology · NIH-11374438 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research project at MIT aims to find immune biomarkers that tell which Lyme patients will recover after standard antibiotics and who might have lasting symptoms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $591,184 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI178713-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11374438 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with acute Lyme disease who are treated with antibiotics and are followed over time to see recovery or persistence of symptoms.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who do not experience Lyme disease or who are not treated for acute Lyme may not benefit.
What this research studies
Lyme disease affects hundreds of thousands of people each year, and some patients continue to have symptoms after antibiotics. This study will look at detailed immune markers in blood to find differences between people who fully recover and those with persistent symptoms. The team has developed a new technique called FLIP to measure antibody subtypes and isotypes more precisely. If a reliable biomarker is found, it could guide treatment decisions and future research into why some patients do not fully recover.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could receive more personalized care and better predictions about recovery after antibiotics for Lyme disease.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work showed differences in antibody patterns; this project builds on that to identify a predictive biomarker.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tal, Michal Caspi — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Tal, Michal Caspi
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding why some people have ongoing symptoms after Lyme disease
A long-term study follows people diagnosed with acute Lyme disease to see who develops persistent symptoms and why, with care from a team of Lyme experts.
-
CSF Protein Map in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease
A short study to map proteins in spinal fluid of people who had Lyme disease and still feel sick after standard treatment, to understand what’s going on.
-
Lyme disease vaccine research aimed at preventing infection
Researchers are developing a Lyme disease vaccine by studying how the immune system responds to Borrelia burgdorferi and testing vaccine approaches to prevent illness.
-
Lyme disease brain health: tracking brain signals and blood clues after treatment
This study follows people with early Lyme disease and compares them to healthy volunteers to see how the brain and blood markers change over a year after starting antibiotics.
-
Lyme disease symptoms lingering after treatment may be driven by special bacterial fragments
A human-friendly look at a study exploring why some Lyme patients keep symptoms after antibiotics and whether tiny fragments from the bacteria are to blame.
-
Imaging Lyme disease with special PET tracers
A new imaging tool using PET probes is being developed to visualize Lyme disease in people affected by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.