TAL RESEARCH GROUP

Pioneering Infection-Associated Chronic Illness Research

The Tal Research Group at MIT is an immunoengineering lab mapping the trajectory of immune responses to infection.

We study chronic Lyme and acute Lyme disease, Long Covid, and ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome), and their associated pathologies and co-occurring conditions.

We conduct translational, clinically significant research to advance understanding, diagnostics, and treatments for these complex chronic illnesses. We build innovative predictive diagnostic tools that accelerate knowledge of disease trajectories and biomarkers. Led by Dr. Mikki Tal, our interdiscliplinary research uses cutting edge technology to fill in key knowledge gaps and identify impactful findings.

We are based in the MIT Department of Biological Engineering and in the MIT Center for Gynepathology Research.

Research Topics


We seek to conduct innovative, high-impact research exploring unanswered questions about how people develop chronic illness after infection and who is at greatest risk for these complex illnesses.

    • Sex Differences - How men and women differ in their immune responses and in how they develop chronic illnesses, including the roles of sex hormones and the immune system.

    • Mechanisms Behind Chronic Illness - Exploring how the immune system, nervous system, and other processes cause chronic illness, using advanced, non-invasive tests to study brain function, cognition, and blood flow in our MAESTRO clinical study.

    • Biomarkers of Chronic Illness - Collecting and studying biological samples to find new indicators (biomarkers) of chronic diseases.

    • Immune-Pathogen Interactions - How infections trigger immune reactions or escape immune defenses, particularly in Lyme disease, to find better treatments.

    • Links Between Related Chronic Illnesses - The similarities and overlaps among conditions like chronic Lyme, Long COVID, ME/CFS, POTS, mast cell disorders, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in a program called Project Connect at MIT.

    • Environmental Risk Factors - Investigating how exposures to things like toxic chemicals and mold might increase the risk of developing infection-related chronic illnesses.

    • Mouse Models - Using mouse models to study how infections cause organ damage and chronic illness, focusing on Lyme disease.

    • Connective Tissue Damage and Disorders - Assessing skin and joint problems linked to chronic illnesses and study how connective tissue damage occurs.

    • Reproductive Health - Researching how infections might cause reproductive and gynecological problems, including studies in mouse models.

    • Predictive Diagnostics - We are developing immune-based tests to predict who will recover and who may develop chronic illnesses after infection, starting with Lyme disease and aiming to expand to Long COVID and ME/CFS.

    • Immune-Pathogen Interactions - How infections trigger immune reactions or escape immune defenses, particularly in Lyme disease, to find better treatments.

Select Research Projects

  • MAESTRO


    Our longitudinal clinical study explores the immunology and neurology of acute and chronic Lyme disease and Long COVID. This includes comprehensive, non-invasive immunological, neurological, neurocognitive, and skin integrity/hypermobility testing, and multiple bioloigical sample collections, to look for biomarkers of disease and pathogen persistence.

    Read about MAESTRO here

  • Sexx + Immunity


    We explore how bioloogical sex and sex hormones impact a) chronic illness trajectories and b) normal and pathological immune responses to infection and other immune triggers.

    Read about our series of talks here

  • Predictive Diagnostics

    Developing novel immune-based predictive diagnostics for infection-associated chronic illnesses (called “FLIP”) to predict who develops chronic illness after infection and who recovers.

  • Deep Immune Profiling


    Comprehensive antibody profiling and immune phenotyping in chronic Lyme disease and similar chronic illnesses to inform the identification of therapeutic targets and the development of new immune-based therapeutics.

  • Cross-Illness Research

    Project Connect encompasses research projects studying the overlaps; shared pathophysiology, triggers and risk factors; and similarities and differences across co-occuring chronic illnesses including chronic Lyme, Long Covid, ME/CFS and more. It includes deep dives into less studied pathologies and the prevalence of comorbidities. Led by Beth Pollack, this innovative cross-illness approach breaks down traditional silos to advance translational knowlege of these illnesses as a group.

  • Infection and Allergy

    Our “IgE project” explores whether someone can become allergic to a pathogen or a persisting piece of a pathogen, and whether this may be occurring in chronic Lyme disease. This research explores mast cell activation and pathological allergy in mouse models of chronic Lyme disease.

  • Mouse models of Lyme disease, including reproductive health

    We develop mouse models of acute and chronic Lyme disease, and hope to expand this work into other infection-associated chronic illnesses. Our murine research studies infection-associated organ and joint damage, dermatitis, mast cell activation, and the development of reproductive conditions similar to endometriosis in mice.

  • Pathogens and mechanisms of persistent infections

    We study how Borrelia Burgdorferi (the bacteria that causes Lyme disease), can block critical immune checkpoints and evade the immune system, impacting the efficacy of antibiotics to clear infection. We’ve also found a novel protein that can inhibit Borrelia growth and inhibit proliferation of infection. We call these our “P66” and “SCGB1D2” research projects.


We’ve launched the largest clinical study in MIT history!

Learn about our innovative, multi-illness MAESTRO study to uncover mechanisms of acute and chronic Lyme and Long Covid, and compare across illnesses. We also hope to add an ME/CFS cohort, and we screen for dysautonomia and connnective tissue disorders in the study.

Dr. Tal in the lab sorting cells on a flow cytometer.

We utilize and develop cutting-edge technology for immune profiling.

NEWS

The Boston Globe Profiled Our Research

The Tal Research Group “is already discerning differences in the ratios among various types of antibodies in Lyme patients before they even start taking their initial course of antibiotics. The configurations look different in those who will be fine after treatment, versus those who just get sicker and sicker.”

The Tal Research Group is awarded the NIH’s first ever grant funding to study chronic Lyme disease!

Click here to read the NIH press release.

“Broadening our understanding of PTLDS may also contribute to our knowledge of a broader set of infection-associated chronic illnesses, such as Long COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Without understanding the biologic processes of these conditions, it will be very difficult to develop effective clinical interventions.”