In this special Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode recorded live at Project Lab Coat during New York Fashion Week (NYFW), we sit down with Dr. Michal “Mikki” Caspi Tal, Principal Scientist in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT and Associate Scientific Director of the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research.

Dr. Tal is an immunologist and immunoengineer whose groundbreaking research focuses on the connections between infections and chronic diseases, including Lyme disease and long COVID. At her Tal Research Group lab, she studies why some people recover quickly after infection while others develop chronic illness, with a focus on the immune system’s different responses in men and women.

• How Dr. Tal’s lab uses mouse models of chronic Lyme and a large clinical study to take a deeper look at Lyme disease.
• Why some patients make a protective immune response while others develop catastrophic responses like dysautonomia, MCAS, gynecological issues, or clotting disorders.
• How her team is moving beyond “yes/no” antibody tests to create new biomarker diagnostics that can guide treatments.
• Why sex differences matter in chronic illness and why women are more likely to experience long-term symptoms after infection.
• How her research could lead to more personalized treatment approaches for Lyme disease patients by grouping individuals based on immune response patterns.
• What samples (blood, saliva, sweat, tissue) her team is collecting at MIT to uncover new insights into chronic Lyme disease.
• Why this research brings hope to Lyme patients who feel unseen and unheard.

• Principal Scientist, MIT Department of Biological Engineering
• Associate Scientific Director, MIT Center for Gynepathology Research
• Focus areas: Lyme disease, long COVID, chronic inflammatory diseases, sex differences in immune response, predictive diagnostics
• Background: PhD in Immunobiology from Yale (mentored by Dr. Akiko Iwasaki), postdoctoral training at Stanford (Irving Weissman lab), infectious disease research leader at Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
• Awards: NIH NIAID F31 and F32 Fellowships, Bay Area Lyme Foundation Emerging Leader Award

Project Lab Coat was a groundbreaking event held on September 13, 2025, during New York Fashion Week (NYFW). The show brought together prominent celebrities, researchers, doctors, and advocates who were invited to walk the runway to spotlight Lyme disease and raise funds for Lyme disease research.

For the first time, the global visibility of NYFW was used to highlight one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the world. Tick Boot Camp co-founders Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen, together with Dr. Tal, walked the runway at Project Lab Coat, joining leaders from medicine, science, entertainment, and advocacy. Project Lab Coat demonstrated the power of mainstream platforms to bring awareness, credibility, and resources to the fight against Lyme disease.

For too long, chronic Lyme patients have been told their symptoms are “all in their head.” Dr. Tal’s work at MIT proves otherwise by measuring the real biological differences in immune system responses. This research not only validates patients’ experiences but also charts a course toward better diagnostics, clinical trials, and personalized treatments.

In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with András Pal Bozsik, co-founder of Lyme Diagnostics Ltd and coordinator of the EU-funded DualDur® project, to discuss a disruptive new diagnostic technology that promises earlier, more accurate detection of Lyme disease.

For decades, Lyme testing has relied on indirect serological methods that often miss early infection and fail chronic patients. András shares how his father’s pioneering work on Borrelia detection inspired the development of DualDur®, an AI-driven, direct detection system capable of finding Borrelia burgdorferi in blood samples at all stages of infection.

We cover:

• Why current Lyme serology tests miss up to 60% of early infections
• How the DualDur® cell technology medium stabilizes and concentrates Borrelia for accurate identification
• The role of AI-powered automated microscopy in eliminating human error and improving sensitivity
• Scientific evidence of Borrelia’s genetic variation and shape-shifting every 2–3 weeks — explaining chronic infection and recurring IgM immune responses
• How DualDur testing can monitor treatment efficacy and guide Lyme-literate practitioners
• The debate over sexual transmission of Lyme and mother-to-child transmission risks
• Insights from clinical trials with 400 patients across Europe proving DualDur’s higher accuracy compared to standard methods
• The importance of combination antibiotic therapy, including overlooked options like ciprofloxacin, and why single antibiotics are rarely effective
• Plans to expand DualDur testing across Europe and eventually into the United States with FDA trials

This groundbreaking conversation bridges science, technology, and patient care. It gives hope to millions of Lyme patients seeking a reliable test and effective treatment strategies.

🎧 Listen now to learn how DualDur could transform Lyme disease diagnostics and bring long-overdue answers to patients worldwide.

In this powerful episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, we sit down with Ciara Gaglio, a 37-year-old from Woodside, Queens, New York, whose life was completely transformed by Lyme disease. Once a vibrant, social, and creative digital media professional, Ciara’s health began to unravel in her late 20s. What followed was nearly a decade of relentless symptoms, countless misdiagnoses, and visits to over 100 doctors before finally receiving a Lyme disease diagnosis at age 36.

Ciara opens up about her devastating symptoms, including unrelenting fatigue, neurological issues, full-body pain, kidney distress, and the emotional toll of isolation. She shares her treatment journey—beginning with antibiotics like doxycycline and Rocephin through a PICC line, and later expanding to supportive therapies like herbs, probiotics, yoga, ozone therapy, and more.

This candid conversation sheds light on the financial, emotional, and social impact of chronic Lyme disease, as well as the resilience required to keep advocating for yourself in a medical system that too often dismisses patients.

Listen to Ciara’s journey of courage, humor, and persistence in the face of chronic Lyme disease. Her message is clear: be kind to yourself, advocate fiercely, and never give up.