Upstate Medical University to launch Lyme and tick-borne disease treatment center

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate Medical University has plans to launch a Lyme and tick-borne disease treatment center.

The health system says the center is possible because of a federal grant secured by U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.), and the now-retired U.S. Representative John Katko, per its online news release.

Upstate Medical will use the $898,000 grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for the design, construction, and equipment costs associated with establishing the center. HRSA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The center will “centralize and supplement” Upstate’s existing resources for combatting tick-borne disease. They include the Vector Biocontainment Laboratory, which is devoted to studying both vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens. The preexisting expertise will allow Upstate to use the federal funding for the project to pay for necessary capital investments, the health system said.

Dr. Kristopher Paolino — assistant professor of microbiology and immunology who specializes in Lyme disease care — said more and more ticks in New York are found to be carrying Lyme and other diseases. This center will advance Upstate’s treatment and research for tick-borne diseases.

“We have an increased numbers of patients who require treatment for tick-borne diseases and we need better education, not only for patients, but for providers on how to identify some of these diseases we are seeing,” Paolino said. “Having a Lyme disease and tick-borne disease clinical center would be a way to provide patients and providers the tools they need to protect themselves and also encourage patients to seek appropriate treatment in a timely manner. The longer someone goes with untreated Lyme disease the more likely they are going to have chronic symptoms.”

Paolino said the key to the new center will be its multidisciplinary approach.

Upstate will use existing office space for the clinical care suite. Plans for the space could include state-of-the-art telemedicine capabilities, including the “most advanced technology” for virtual teaching and training. They also include the existing Ted talk space at the CNY Biotech Accelerator “to be leveraged to help share knowledge with clinicians at institutions across the nation and world.”