LymeLnk Launches: Building Community in San Diego

Blog by Haley Scarano

Back in July, Eva, our founder, was at a coffee shop in La Jolla, CA, putting the finishing touches on LymeLnk’s launch event for the following day when she overheard a woman exclaim,

“Oh my goodness, there’s a tick on me!”

Eva approached her, explaining her curiosity—and the uncanny timing of the encounter. The woman shared that she’d lived in La Jolla her entire life but had only recently begun encountering ticks. Lately, she’d been picking handfuls off her dog after every walk, noticing that her favorite local trails and parks were suddenly teeming with them. Eva explained that due to increasing climate temperatures and deforestation, tick populations are increasing and expanding into new regions in all 50 states, including coastal Southern California. The woman was relieved to know she wasn’t imagining things—but surprised to learn the reason behind this emerging issue in her own backyard.

San Diego—like much of the West Coast—continues to be mistakenly regarded as an area with little to no Lyme or tick-borne disease (Lyme+). While residents of historically endemic regions such as the Northeast tend to be more Lyme-literate, awareness in San Diego remains strikingly low, causing a high amount of late and missed diagnoses, and even death from Lyme+ complications. San Diego also stands as a hub of health and science innovation. For these reasons, Eva’s hometown served as the ideal setting for our launch event, which invited the local community to engage with this growing public health crisis, increase Lyme literacy, and promote protection and prevention. Ahead of the event, LymeLnk’s launch was featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune and on Fox 5 KUSI—two prominent local media outlets—marking an important first step in raising awareness.

Incubated at Parsons School of Design and incorporated in 2024, LymeLnk’s launch marked the culmination of more than two years of academic research, over 100 community interviews, and countless hours of pro bono support from individuals who were inspired to contribute to LymeLnk’s mission. Guests entered an open, socially driven space where they were welcomed with natural wine and allergen-friendly aperitifs as they mingled and connected. Community lies at the heart of LymeLnk—both for patients and the public—as we build awareness from the ground up. We believe that sharing experiences and information is essential to building understanding. 

The event convened 150 distinguished community leaders representing research, government, biotechnology, philanthropy, medicine, and the arts, with California Congressman Scott Peters among the attendees. We were honored to welcome our key opinion leaders, Dr. Liz Horn, Principal Investigator of the Bay Area Lyme Foundation’s Lyme Disease Biobank, and Dr. Sharon Wampler, founder of the San Diego Lyme Alliance, for a thought-provoking Q&A panel. Their presence reflected the depth of expertise and community commitment driving the fight against Lyme+, debunking the myth that there’s no tick-borne disease in California while empowering attendees to advocate for their health.

“There are places in California where Lyme disease is as endemic as it is in Connecticut,” Dr. Horn shared. “In places where there’s less Lyme disease, that makes it very hard for diagnosis—because it’s just not on practitioners’ radars.”

Additional Lyme+ organizations present included Global Lyme Alliance and LymeDisease.org, some members driving down from Orange County and Los Angeles, underscoring the collaborative spirit that defines our community.

Once everyone had settled in and mingled, our founder, Eva Scarano, opened the event with a personal statement. She spoke about her nearly decade-long battle with Lyme disease and the isolating, under-resourced experience that inspired her to create LymeLnk. After sharing striking statistics—such as the estimated 500,000 new Lyme cases each year, exceeding those of breast cancer, HIV, and tuberculosis combined—she emphasized that even this figure captures only a fraction of actual cases due to diagnostic challenges. Eva explained LymeLnk’s approach of using storytelling to educate the public—empowering prevention through awareness while fostering compassion. She then welcomed Dr. Horn and Dr. Wampler to the stage to help untangle this complex epidemic through research and insight.

Dr. Horn, a leading biomedical researcher and patient advocate, has advanced Lyme research by building one of the field’s most important biorepositories—a bank of tissue used by scientists worldwide to develop better diagnostic tools and deepen understanding of the disease. Dr. Wampler, a scientist and community leader, brought both professional insight and personal perspective, shaped by her own experience with Lyme and her advocacy in founding the San Diego Lyme Alliance. Together, their conversation was both informative and deeply moving, leaving listeners inspired and hopeful about the progress ahead. 

After the conversation, guests were invited to experience an audio-visual installation by local artist Victor Castañeda, depicting a patient’s grueling journey through Lyme disease. The piece immersed viewers in the reality of living with Lyme—a surreal, disorienting, and deeply painful passage through everyday life. Layered over haunting soundscapes and striking visuals, the patient’s voice narrated his story—from the first onset of symptoms, through the debilitating years that followed, to his eventual recovery. The patient reflected that while he has regained his health, many others are still fighting for theirs.

Following the event, we surveyed attendees to measure its impact and gather insights for future programming. On average, participants rated their knowledge of Lyme prevention and diagnosis as 4.6 out of 10 before the event and 8.6 out of 10 afterward—a four-point gain, representing a 87% increase in understanding. Many guests expressed gratitude for hearing directly from both patients and scientists, sharing that they were moved by the personal stories and informed by the data. One attendee wrote,

“I would love future programming to include a Q&A section—I came home and googled so many things! My aunt has Lyme, and I never really understood it until now. I look forward to talking with her about it.”

That reflection stood out to us. For this attendee—and many others who shared similar feedback—we achieved what we set out to do: inspire curiosity, deepen understanding, and spark meaningful conversations about a disease that affects far more people than most realize.

Since its launch, LymeLnk has been fundraising to bring its mission to life, supporting the development of its first pilot campaign. Officially receiving 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS, the organization has raised over $75,000 since July to directly support educational and community programming. LymeLnk is now in the midst of campaign design, with tentative plans to partner with a local San Diego nonprofit to integrate Lyme and tick-borne disease education and prevention into after-school STEM programs reaching thousands of students—stay tuned for more to come!