Episode 266: ECO Laboratory - an interview with Karen Weeks and Anna Roberts

This week Tick Boot Camp interviewed the dynamic mother daughter founders and operators of Eco Laboratory. Karen Weeks is an internationally recognized Lyme disease pioneer who has been at the forefront of Lyme research since the early 1980s. While supervising the Virology Department at the Department of Public Health for Massachusetts, Ms. Weeks worked directly with Dr. Allen Steere (the physician researcher recognized for detailing the clinical symptoms and naming Lyme disease). At that time, Ms. Weeks developed the Antibody Capture Immunoassay, which remains the most sensitive test available for Lyme disease. In 1990 she co-founded IMUGEN Inc, the premier laboratory for the diagnosis of Lyme disease, and many other tick-borne diseases. Ms. Weeks co-authored several publications pertaining to tick-borne diseases in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, The New England Journal of Medicine, and many others. Anna Roberts is following in her mother's large footsteps and manages Eco Laboratory. Because Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases are spreading at an alarming rate, Ms. Weeks decided to re-enter the testing arena after merging IMUGEN to a national testing company. She understood that quick diagnosis and treatment of tick-borne illnesses is vital to treating tick-borne pathogens. To support early intervention, she set up a testing system that quickly processes the tick and provides patients with accurate timely results. Today, Eco Laboratory offers 5 highly regarded tick testing panels including, a Lyme Disease only panel, a Blacklegged Deer Tick Panel, a Lone Star Tick Panel, an American Dog Tick Panel, and a Customized Tick Panel. If you would like to learn more about tick testing and the virtues of working with a laboratory built by a Lyme disease pioneer, then tune in now!