Nicole Bell, author of “What Lurks in the Woods: Struggle and Hope in the Midst of Chronic Illness,” recently announced the passing of her husband, Russell Bell. He died of early-onset Alzheimer’s, triggered by Lyme disease, two other tick-borne illnesses, and heavy metal toxicity.

Her tragic memoir captures the challenges that many families face as they struggle to find effective treatments for complex, late-stage tick-borne illnesses. To help others in this situation, she’s set up a memorial page to honor his memory, directing donations to Invisible International’s Tick Bytes research initiative.

She adds, “With a mission to eliminate suffering from tick-borne illness, this program seeks to collect clinical data that will reveal and validate treatments and solutions for tick-borne illness. When you donate to support this research program, you will help to create a world in which no family loses a loved one to tick-borne illness.”

To help bring new solutions to market, Invisible International has launched the Tick-borne Illness Diagnostic Development Incubator, a yearlong collaborative forum designed to bring together teams of multidisciplinary innovators to explore new diagnostic approaches, understand regulatory processes, and obtain diagnostic development funding. We invite all interested stakeholders — academic researchers, startups, diagnostic companies, patients, and funders — to register by February 1.

Christine Green, MD, is a Stanford-trained and board-certified family medicine physician with 30 years of experience treating patients with tick-borne illness. In this Q&A, she discusses common symptoms and the diagnostic process for Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. She is currently Invisible International's education co-director for the Montecalvo Foundation platform for tick-borne disease education.