Episode 537: NYFW Project Lab Coat - MIT Immunologist Dr. Michal Caspi Tal on Chronic Lyme, Immune Responses, and Hope for Patients

In this special Tick Boot Camp Podcast episode recorded live at Project Lab Coat during New York Fashion Week (NYFW), we sit down with Dr. Michal “Mikki” Caspi Tal, Principal Scientist in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT and Associate Scientific Director of the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research.

Dr. Tal is an immunologist and immunoengineer whose groundbreaking research focuses on the connections between infections and chronic diseases, including Lyme disease and long COVID. At her Tal Research Group lab, she studies why some people recover quickly after infection while others develop chronic illness, with a focus on the immune system’s different responses in men and women.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How Dr. Tal’s lab uses mouse models of chronic Lyme and a large clinical study to take a deeper look at Lyme disease.
• Why some patients make a protective immune response while others develop catastrophic responses like dysautonomia, MCAS, gynecological issues, or clotting disorders.
• How her team is moving beyond “yes/no” antibody tests to create new biomarker diagnostics that can guide treatments.
• Why sex differences matter in chronic illness and why women are more likely to experience long-term symptoms after infection.
• How her research could lead to more personalized treatment approaches for Lyme disease patients by grouping individuals based on immune response patterns.
• What samples (blood, saliva, sweat, tissue) her team is collecting at MIT to uncover new insights into chronic Lyme disease.
• Why this research brings hope to Lyme patients who feel unseen and unheard.

About Dr. Michal Caspi Tal

• Principal Scientist, MIT Department of Biological Engineering
• Associate Scientific Director, MIT Center for Gynepathology Research
• Focus areas: Lyme disease, long COVID, chronic inflammatory diseases, sex differences in immune response, predictive diagnostics
• Background: PhD in Immunobiology from Yale (mentored by Dr. Akiko Iwasaki), postdoctoral training at Stanford (Irving Weissman lab), infectious disease research leader at Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
• Awards: NIH NIAID F31 and F32 Fellowships, Bay Area Lyme Foundation Emerging Leader Award

About Project Lab Coat at New York Fashion Week

Project Lab Coat was a groundbreaking event held on September 13, 2025, during New York Fashion Week (NYFW). The show brought together prominent celebrities, researchers, doctors, and advocates who were invited to walk the runway to spotlight Lyme disease and raise funds for Lyme disease research.

For the first time, the global visibility of NYFW was used to highlight one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the world. Tick Boot Camp co-founders Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen, together with Dr. Tal, walked the runway at Project Lab Coat, joining leaders from medicine, science, entertainment, and advocacy. Project Lab Coat demonstrated the power of mainstream platforms to bring awareness, credibility, and resources to the fight against Lyme disease.

Why This Episode Matters

For too long, chronic Lyme patients have been told their symptoms are “all in their head.” Dr. Tal’s work at MIT proves otherwise by measuring the real biological differences in immune system responses. This research not only validates patients’ experiences but also charts a course toward better diagnostics, clinical trials, and personalized treatments.