16 Winners Share $250,000: HHS Announces LymeX Visible Voices Prize Winners to Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosis
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in Washington on October 30 that 16 winners have been selected for the LymeX Visible Voices Prize, recognizing patient-informed resources that help patients, caregivers, and clinicians better understand Lyme and tickborne disease diagnosis.
Drexel University College of Medicine received the $50,000 Grand Prize. Five Excellence Prizes of $20,000 each went to MyLymeCoach, The Visible Diagnosis Project, Global Lyme Alliance, Patient Powered Insights from MyLymeData, and Galaxy Diagnostics. Ten additional submissions received Impact Awards of $10,000 each, bringing the total prize purse to $250,000.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said patients battling Lyme and other tickborne diseases deserve answers and their experiences must drive the department's work, adding that the winners turn patient insights into practical tools that help families and clinicians navigate diagnosis. He said the federal government is mobilizing patients, researchers, and innovators through the Lyme Disease Moonshot to confront diagnostic challenges and advance treatment.
HHS said Visible Voices is one of four 2026 LymeX prize competitions supporting the department's Lyme Disease Moonshot. It advances priorities outlined in President Trump's Executive Order, Eliminating Disease-Carrying Pests and Restoring Enjoyment of the Great Outdoors, which directs HHS to build on the Lyme Moonshot through prize competitions or research and development.
Winners were selected following nonfederal expert evaluation and federal review. HHS said all winning submissions are posted on the prize website, and its Lyme disease page collects related federal initiatives.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：暗视野显微镜下导致莱姆病的伯氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia burgdorferi），美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）公共卫生图像库 PHIL 6631，公共领域。 / Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, under dark-field microscopy, CDC Public Health Image Library (PHIL 6631), public domain.
