UCLA senior’s TickTracker AI wins $50,000 HHS prize for Lyme disease prevention

UCLA senior Olivia Goodreau and her TickTracker AI team won second place and a $50,000 prize in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ TOPx Tech Sprint for AI & Invisible Illness. The award spotlights a patient-built tool that uses AI, mapping and public health data to improve tick identification, exposure awareness and Lyme prevention.

Why it matters: - TickTracker AI is aimed at earlier awareness of tick exposure, which could help reduce delayed diagnoses and preventable tick-borne illness. - The platform is built to serve families, outdoor enthusiasts, healthcare professionals, researchers and public health agencies. - The HHS prize gives national visibility to a patient-led digital health tool focused on Lyme disease prevention.

What happened: - UCLA senior Olivia Goodreau and the TickTracker AI team won second place and a $50,000 prize in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services TOPx Tech Sprint for AI & Invisible Illness in the Lyme Innovation category. - The recognition was announced Nov. 12, 2026. - The award came after Goodreau turned her childhood Lyme disease experience into a prevention mission.

The details: - Goodreau was diagnosed with Lyme disease after visiting 51 doctors over 18 months, starting at age 7. - She later learned she had five additional tick-borne diseases after seeing her 54th doctor. - Goodreau founded the LivLyme Foundation at age 12 to help children affected by Lyme disease, fund research, and advance education and advocacy. - Goodreau hosts the annual LivLyme Scientific Summit, now in its sixth year, bringing together scientists, physicians, researchers and advocates from around the world. - Goodreau is the author of "But She Looks Fine: From Illness to Activism," a memoir about her experience and advocacy. - Goodreau co-created TickTracker and LongHaulTracker, digital platforms for tick identification, exposure documentation and symptom tracking. - TickTracker has evolved into TickTracker AI. - TickTracker AI uses artificial intelligence, federal open data, mapping and public health information to help people understand potential tick exposure. - The platform can identify ticks through AI-powered image recognition. - The system maps geographic exposure risks using environmental and public health data. - The platform provides educational resources for prevention decisions. - The platform supports research through tick observations and data collection. - TickTracker AI offers free, multilingual access worldwide. - The multidisciplinary team includes Olivia Goodreau, Holiday Goodreau, Jeff Stauffer, Aydogan Ozcan, PhD, Rajesh Ghosh, PhD, Artem Goncharov, PhD and Denise Erwin. - Aydogan Ozcan serves as scientific advisor from UCLA Samueli Engineering. - HHS said the TOPx Tech Sprint challenged innovators to develop practical AI solutions for Lyme disease, invisible illnesses and healthcare costs. - HHS announced 40 Phase 2 winners across three categories and more than $3.7 million in awards.

Between the lines: - The project blends personal experience with UCLA engineering expertise, which may help the tool feel more credible to both patients and researchers. - The emphasis on open data, mapping and multilingual access suggests the team is aiming for broad public use rather than a niche research product. - Ozcan said the combination of artificial intelligence and geospatial data could make tick identification and exposure risk awareness more accessible and empower proactive prevention.

What's next: - Goodreau said the team wants to keep building tools that help families and individuals protect themselves. - Goodreau is also working on earlier Lyme disease detection with researchers and innovators, including at UCLA’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. - The team’s broader goal is to help fewer families experience delayed diagnoses and preventable tick exposures. - Goodreau said the project would matter if it prevents even one person from going through her experience.

The bottom line: - A patient-led idea turned into a federally recognized AI prevention platform, and the HHS award gives TickTracker AI a bigger stage to reach people at risk of Lyme disease.