Lyme disease is a growing public health concern, with approximately 476,000 new cases in the U.S. each year. Many patients’ voices are underheard, and as a result, they’re left searching for answers while navigating a potentially debilitating and often invisible illness, unable to find reliable information, connect with others, or identify affordable care that works in real-world settings.
To meet this challenge, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Coforma are pleased to announce the launch of the LymeX Healthathon Innovation Sprint with up to $250,000 available in cash prizes.
This work builds on Coforma’s original Health+ Lyme Disease program, launched in partnership with HHS in 2021, which combined human-centered design research and a Healthathon to generate real-world solutions for people living with Lyme disease.
The 2026 LymeX Healthathon is an open invitation to crowdsource real-world solutions for people living with Lyme disease. It complements the TOPx HHS Tech Sprint for AI and Invisible Illness. While the TOPx Sprint mobilizes technologists to build AI-powered tools from open data, the Healthathon brings together patients, caregivers, and clinicians to contribute what data alone cannot capture: the reality of living with Lyme, what has helped, and what must change.
Healthathon participants are invited to engage in the following three ways:
- Share a personal narrative reflecting the experience of a patient, caregiver, or clinician. Note: For stories concerning another individual and any associated personal information, entrants must certify they have written authorization from the subject or their lawful representative.
- Identify one priority to make Lyme and tickborne illnesses more visible, navigable, and better understood.
- Submit relevant treatment and care experiences to CURE ID, a platform capturing real-world insights for the NIH, FDA, and HHS. Completion of this step is required to be eligible for the largest cash prizes.
We invite US Lyme Disease patients, clinicians, caregivers, educators, and innovators to contribute their specialized expertise to this mission. Together, this information will be synthesized to identify shared patterns, themes, and insights that reflect real-world experience and support peer-to-peer learning. Full details on tracks, prizes, judging criteria, deadlines, and eligibility is available at https://lymex.crowdicity.com/.
About LymeX
The LymeX Innovation Accelerator is a public-private partnership between HHS and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. LymeX aims to accelerate the development of solutions that improve the lives of people affected by Lyme disease. Learn more at lymex.crowdicity.com.
About Coforma
Coforma is a digital services company that partners with government agencies and organizations to design and deliver human-centered solutions. Through the Health+ program, Coforma works to address complex health challenges using research-informed, participatory approaches. Learn more at coforma.io.