The information on Lyme disease presented on this web site has been reviewed and approved by one or more members of our Board of Directors or Scientific Advisory Board.

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The American Lyme Disease Foundation was incorporated on May 11, 1990 in New York State under the founding directorship of Dr. John J. Connolly, then President of New York Medical College in Valhalla, Westchester County. The need for the foundation was visualized by Dr. Connolly, Dr. Durland Fish, Medical Entomologist at New York Medical College at the time, and James Handelman, Executive Director of the Mathers Charitable Foundation in neighboring Mt Kisco, NY, who were concerned over the inadequate federal response to the Lyme disease epidemic which was rapidly spreading throughout suburban Westchester County.

David Weld, formerly of the Nature Conservancy and brother to former Governor William Weld of Massachusetts, was hired as Executive Director. The mission was to raise funds for research and education on Lyme disease. The foundation’s fund-raising events in New York City provided over $100,000 annually for peer-reviewed research projects and educational material nationally.

Fundraising became more difficult in New York City after 9/11/2001 and the mission began to emphasize education in response to the growing sources of misinformation about Lyme disease. Competing foundations formed by patient support groups with little or no medical or scientific credentials began to proliferate in communities and on the Internet. They promoted unscientific claims concerning diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease that could harm patients. With grants from the CDC, ALDF provided unbiased, objective information, based upon the best medical evidence provided by its Board of Scientific Advisors, many of whom were pioneers in academic research on Lyme disease. ALDF was cited in medical journals as being the only privately funded foundation providing reliable medical information on Lyme disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

The untimely death of David Weld in 2005 resulted in a change of leadership with the appointment of Dr Philip Baker, former grants manager for the National Institutes of Health research program on Lyme disease. A nationally known microbiologist with many years of research experience, Dr. Baker ushered in a new phase of promoting scientifically accurate information about Lyme disease and confronting proponents of misinformation and unproven theories about diagnosis and treatment. As Executive Director, he published more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific articles in leading medical journals critical of unproven diagnostic tests and long-term antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease. Dr. Baker resigned in 2022, shortly before his passing in 2023.

Dr. Andrea Love became Executive Director in 2022. With a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology and research experience on Lyme disease, she has continued the mission of ALDF. Dr. Love has expert experience in science communication as Founder of The Unbiased Science Podcast, dedicated to objective, critical appraisal of available evidence on science and health-related topics. She was a 2023 recipient of American Medical Writer’s Association McGovern Award.