Tick Boot Camp Podcast

Dr. Bobbi Pritt was featured on the Tick Boot Camp Podcast:

• Coming soon…

Overview

Amy Proal, PhD, is a leading microbiologist redefining how the medical and scientific communities understand chronic Lyme disease, post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD), and other infection-associated chronic illnesses. Her work focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which persistent pathogens disrupt immune function, gene expression, metabolism, and neurological signaling, leading to long-term, debilitating symptoms.

Dr. Proal is widely recognized for advancing the concept that many chronic illnesses traditionally labeled as “autoimmune” or “idiopathic” may instead be driven by ongoing, hidden infection and immune dysregulation.

Scientific Focus & Expertise

Dr. Proal’s research centers on:

• Persistent bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections

• Tissue-based pathogen reservoirs that evade standard blood testing

• Molecular mimicry, where pathogens trigger autoimmune-like disease

• Successive infection, in which cumulative infections and exposures progressively dysregulate the immune system

• Neurological and systemic immune dysfunction, including autonomic and neuroinflammatory symptoms

• The role of host–microbe interactions in chronic illness progression

Her work directly challenges the assumption that chronic Lyme symptoms persist in the absence of active biological drivers.

PolyBio Research Foundation

In 2018, Dr. Proal co-founded PolyBio Research Foundation, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to uncovering the root biological causes of infection-associated chronic diseases, including:

• Chronic Lyme disease and tick-borne co-infections

• ME/CFS

• Post-infectious immune dysfunction

Unlike traditional research foundations, PolyBio is scientist-led and designs large-scale, collaborative research programs that prioritize:

• Tissue sampling over blood-only studies

• Advanced molecular diagnostics

• Cross-disciplinary collaboration, including expertise from HIV, tuberculosis, and virology research

PolyBio’s work has helped legitimize persistent infection as a serious scientific inquiry and has accelerated innovation in diagnostics and treatment pathways.

Clinical Integration: Mount Sinai CORE

Dr. Proal also serves as Scientific Director of the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness (CORE) at Mount Sinai in New York City.

CORE is a pioneering clinic and research hub that:

• Treats patients with chronic tick-borne illness and complex post-infectious conditions

• Integrates clinical care with active research and clinical trials

• Works within an insurance-based model to expand access to care

In this role, Dr. Proal bridges laboratory science and patient experience — using real-world clinical observations to guide research questions, study design, and diagnostic innovation.

Key Contributions to Lyme Science

Dr. Proal has been instrumental in advancing scientific understanding of:

• Why Borrelia and co-infections persist in tissue rather than circulating in blood

• How immune suppression vs immune support impacts long-term outcomes

• Why short-course antibiotic treatment may fail some patients

• How molecular mimicry contributes to autoimmune-like symptoms

• Why neurological Lyme can occur through both direct CNS infection and vagus-nerve–mediated immune signaling

Her work provides a biological explanation for symptoms long dismissed by mainstream medicine.

Patient-Centered Perspective

Dr. Proal’s career has been deeply informed by her own experience with chronic illness, giving her a rare ability to align cutting-edge science with patient reality. She is widely respected for validating patient experiences while insisting on rigorous, mechanism-driven research.

Her approach emphasizes:

• Listening to patients

• Investigating root cause rather than symptom suppression

• Building diagnostic tools that reflect biological reality

Why Amy Proal Matters to Tick Boot Camp

Amy Proal, PhD, represents the kind of researcher the Tick Boot Camp community needs — someone willing to challenge outdated paradigms, follow the evidence wherever it leads, and center research around the lived experiences of patients.

Her work offers hope that chronic Lyme disease and tick-borne illness will finally be understood, diagnosed, and treated based on science — not dismissal.