Overview

The LymeX Visible Voices Prize is a national prize competition with a $250,000 prize pool to elevate patient experiences and improve understanding of Lyme and tickborne disease diagnosis. It mobilizes patients, caregivers, clinicians, and innovators to create clear, trusted educational resources that address urgent gaps in awareness and care.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States and affects hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. Still, many experience delayed or unclear Lyme disease diagnoses due to limited awareness, evolving testing options, and communication gaps. The result is prolonged illness, debilitating complications, increased health care costs, inconsistent care pathways, and reduced quality of life for patients and family caregivers.

This prize enables participants to transform lived experience and emerging science into practical, trusted resources. Participants retain full ownership of the materials and intellectual property they create. Final submissions are shared publicly under Creative Commons licenses, allowing broad reuse with attribution. The Federal Government provides a platform to elevate and amplify these solutions—turning lived experience into widely accessible, high-impact resources.

What is the LymeX Visible Voices Prize?

This is a national call to action, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the LymeX Innovation Accelerator. This prize builds upon the LymeX Diagnostics Prize—now in Phase 4—and is the first LymeX prize in four years open to all U.S. citizens and organizations.

Join a community-driven effort to turn lived experience and emerging science into resources that help people understand, navigate, and act on diagnostic information.

Compete for $250,000 in total prizes—and help deliver solutions that matter.

What You’ll Do

Create clear, evidence-based educational materials that deliver real-world impact. Teams will design resources that improve understanding, communication, and decision-making—translating complexity into clarity. Materials must be based on federal government sources and peer-reviewed literature and be immediately understandable and usable by the intended audience without specialized training.

Focus your solution in one of four challenge areas:

• Diagnostics Information and Resources: Explain available and emerging Lyme and tickborne disease tests in plain language, including what they measure, how they differ, and their limitations.
• Provider-Facing Educational Materials: Equip frontline providers with practical, evidence-based resources aligned with HHS, CDC, and public health guidance.
• Patient Education Tools: Help patients understand symptoms, testing pathways, and next steps so they can navigate care with confidence.
• Community-Informed Insights: Capture and translate lived experiences into actionable insights that highlight gaps, needs, and opportunities in the diagnostic journey.

The LymeX Visible Voices Prize, conducted under the America COMPETES Act and HHS Challenge rules, is open to eligible U.S. citizens and U.S. organizations.

Expected Outcomes

Within six months of launch, this prize will generate a portfolio of 30 or more publicly shareable submissions and produce 16+ high-impact, evidence-based materials. These outputs will improve understanding of Lyme diagnostics, elevate patient voices, and support more informed care decisions.

All submitted entries may be shared publicly under Creative Commons licenses and may be amplified by HHS, CDC, federal partners, LymeX affiliates, and others to promote awareness and improve understanding of Lyme and tickborne disease diagnostics. Participants retain ownership of their work while enabling broad public reuse and dissemination.

Why Participate

Build with communities. Solve real challenges. Create resources that matter.

• Translate complex science into clear, usable information
• Elevate real patient and clinician experiences
• Gain visibility with federal partners and the public
• Demystify HHS and build your network
• Retain full ownership of your work while enabling broad public impact through Creative Commons sharing of materials entered into the LymeX Visible Voices Prize.

Prize Description

Total Cash Prize Pool: Up to $250,000

HHS may award up to $250,000 in cash prizes under the America COMPETES Act (15 U.S.C. § 3719), consistent with the official Challenge rules.

• 1 Grand Prize: $50,000
• 5 Excellence Prizes: $20,000 each
• 10 Impact Awards: $10,000 each
• Additional Recognition: HHS may provide non-monetary recognition and acknowledgments

HHS may, at its sole discretion, select up to 16 winning submissions across prize categories. Each participant may receive only one cash prize. HHS and the LymeX Innovation Accelerator may also provide non-monetary recognition—including certificates, challenge coins, honorable mentions, or similar acknowledgments—either independently or in addition to a cash prize.

HHS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to not award some or all prizes if submissions do not meet the published evaluation criteria or performance thresholds.

Use of Prize Funds

We remind participants that under this announcement, HHS is seeking to award prizes, not grants. The purpose of this challenge is to reward innovation, not provide financial assistance, and HHS does not limit how winners may use prize funds awarded to them.

Timeline

• May 2026: Website launch
• May 29, 2026: Prize launch
• May 29, 2026, to July 31, 2026: Submission period
• July 31, 2026, 11:59 PM ET: Submission deadline
• August 1, 2026, to August 30, 2026: Evaluation period
• September 2026: Winners notified
• Late 2026: Winners announced

HHS reserves the right to revise, extend, or otherwise adjust these milestone dates.

Judging

A multidisciplinary group of experts will serve on a Judging Panel and review eligible submissions to recommend up to 16 winners, plus ranked alternates. Judges will evaluate submissions independently based on four equally-weighted judging criteria. A total of 20 points can be earned -- 5 points for each criterion. The Judging Panel will make one collective recommendation for HHS consideration, including recommended winners and ranked alternates.

Judging criteria

Category	Description
Practical Impact for Target Audience (Max. 5 points)	Defines a specific target audience and addresses a meaningful information gap related to Lyme and tickborne disease diagnostics. Evaluates the degree to which the content is appropriate for the audience’s needs, level of health literacy, and real-world context in which it will be used.
Clarity and Usability over Complexity (Max. 5 points)	The content focuses on user experience, translating complex diagnostic information into clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand content. Evaluates the degree to which the material is well-structured, actionable, and usable in real-world settings (e.g., clinical use, patient education, community sharing).
Lived Experience and Authenticity (Max. 5 points)	Reflects real-world patient, caregiver, or clinician perspectives with authenticity. Evaluates the degree to which lived experience meaningfully informs the framing, design, and content of the material, helping ensure it resonates with and is useful to real communities.
Data over Dogma (Max. 5 points)	Presents diagnostic information responsibly, including appropriate explanation of tickborne disease testing limitations, uncertainty, and emerging science, without misleading claims, and grounded in information from federal sources (e.g., HHS, NIH, CDC, FDA, and gov/.mil sites) and peer-reviewed literature. Citations should adhere to the Associated Press Stylebook (AP Style).

How to Enter

To enter this Challenge, participants must:

1. Create an account on the official challenge platform: LymeXVisibleVoicesPrize.com  Select “Register” to get started.
2. Submit your entry through the challenge platform at LymeXVisibleVoicesPrize.com before the deadline, following the instructions on the website. The submission form includes the HHS Challenge Participant Registration Form. This form is mandatory to complete to verify eligibility and enable prize payment. All content must be based on federal .gov/.mil websites or peer-reviewed data sources about tickborne diseases.

Submissions must include:

1. Team and Synopsis
   • Team name: 3-7 words
   • Team motto: Up to 14 words
   • Elevator pitch (start with why): Up to 50 words
   • Abstract: Briefly explain how your submission addresses this challenge and why it matters (200 words maximum)
2. Core Submission
   • Submit one finalized, public-facing educational resource designed for immediate, real-world use. Submissions must be original, owned by the team, and eligible for Creative Commons licensing.
   • How would you best describe your educational resource? Select one: Diagnostics Information and Resources, Provider-Facing Educational Materials, Patient Education Tools, Community-Informed Insights, Other (please specify)
   • Define the target audience and explain why this gap is important to solve (100 words max).
   • How does your submission align with the four judging criteria? (Practical impact for target audience, Clarity and usability over complexity, Lived experience and authenticity, Data over dogma) (200 words max).
   • Include citations for the resource you submit. References must come from federal government sources (e.g., HHS, NIH, CDC, FDA, and .gov/.mil sites) and peer-reviewed literature, cited using AP Style.
   • Accepted formats include:
     • Static visual materials (PDF; 2 pages max) (e.g., fact sheets, infographics, posters, flyers).
     • Digital image content (PNG or JPG; 2 pages max) (e.g., social media graphics or short-form visual content).
     • Web or interface designs (PDF; 2 pages max) (e.g., webpage layouts, UX/UI designs, concept mock-ups).
     • Audio content (MP3 or M4A; up to 3 minutes; transcript required).
     • Video content (MP4, MOV, or AVI; up to 3 minutes; captions required).
     • Interactive digital tools or applications (e.g., URL links for mobile apps, functional websites, or interactive platforms).
3. Team Composition
   • Description of lived experience: Explain how team members’ backgrounds and experiences informed the concept, content, and design (150 words maximum).
   • List at least five team members and indicate their connection to Lyme disease: Patient, Caregiver, Advocate, Health care provider, Researcher, or Other (please specify).
   • Identify a Team Leader (must match the HHS Participant Registration Form).

Rules

The Judges and Judging Panel will only review full submissions that meet all eligibility requirements, per the rules of this Challenge.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether a team or entity) —

1. Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge as a team, or entity under the rules and instructions promulgated by HHS as published in this announcement, including but not limited to, the “Prize Payment Rules” and the “How to Enter” section of this announcement.
2. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
3. In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual registering as part of a group (team), shall be a citizen of the United States;
4. Shall not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
5. Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity;
6. Who is employed by a Federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), shall consult with that agency’s Ethics Official to determine whether the Federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this Challenge;
7. Shall not be a judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, stepparent, child, or stepchild).
8. Shall be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission.

Participation Rules

1. Participants (whether teams or entities) may not use Federal funds from a grant award or cooperative agreement to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
2. Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract to develop Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of Challenge submissions. Costs associated with such activities are unallowable and are not allocable to Government contracts.
3. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether a team or entity) agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
4. Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no Participant (whether a team or entity) participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance, or demonstrate financial responsibility, or agree to indemnify the Federal government against third-party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities in order to participate in this Challenge.
5. A Participant (whether a team or entity) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
6. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether a team or entity) warrants that they are the sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Participant is aware.
7. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether a team or entity) grants to HHS an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the submission on the web or elsewhere, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the solution throughout the world. Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the Federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to HHS, but Participants must grant to the Federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
8. Each Participant (whether a team or entity) agrees to follow all applicable Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
9. Each Participant (whether a team or entity) participating in this Challenge must comply with all rules and requirements included in this announcement, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by the rules and requirements. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
10. As a condition for receiving a cash prize in this Challenge, each Participant (whether a team or entity) that has been selected as a winner must complete and submit all requested winner verification and payment documents to HHS. Failure to return all required verification and payment documents by the date specified in the formal winner notification may be a basis for disqualification of a cash prize winning submission.

Prize Payment Rules

1. For each eligible Participant under the “Eligibility Rules,” HHS will use that Participant’s registration as a team or entity on the “HHS Challenge Participant Registration Form” to determine who receives payment of any HHS prize money.
   1. For a winning Participant registered as a team with an eligible Team Leader, HHS will pay the entire prize for that team to the Team Leader.  Division of the prize money is at the discretion of the Team Leader. 
   2. For an eligible winning Participant registered as an entity, HHS will pay the entity.  
2. Prizes awarded under this Challenge by HHS will be paid by electronic funds transfer and may be subject to Federal income taxes. HHS will comply with Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.
3. Entities participating in this Challenge are encouraged, but not required, to request and obtain a free Unique Entity ID (UEI), if they have not already done so, via SAM.gov as this may expedite prize payment. Additional information can be found at https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration.

Other Rules

HHS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) cancel, suspend, or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no submissions are deemed worthy.

An individual or entity may not receive more than one prize. If a submission qualifies for multiple awards, HHS will determine and issue only the highest-ranking or highest-value prize.

Submissions must be original and owned by the participant team or submitted with appropriate rights. It must use evidence-based information about Lyme and tickborne disease diagnostics from federal sources, the LymeX Innovation Accelerator, or peer-reviewed literature, with appropriate citations (see Resources section).

Submissions must be complete and received during the open submissions period of the challenge in order to be eligible. Participants may update and refine their submissions at any time during the open submission period. Only the final version submitted by the deadline will be reviewed and evaluated by HHS.

Content Accuracy and Use

Submissions must present information that is accurate, evidence-based, and appropriately contextualized. Participants are responsible for ensuring that their materials do not contain misleading, unsubstantiated, or inaccurate claims related to Lyme or tickborne disease diagnostics. Submissions are for educational and informational purposes only and must not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations.

Submissions are intended solely for educational and informational purposes and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Participation in this Challenge does not create a clinician-patient relationship.

Use of Federal Identity

Submissions must not use the HHS name, logo, or official seal, or claim endorsement by the Federal government.

Public Sharing of Submissions

Participants acknowledge that winning and selected submissions may be shared publicly by HHS to promote awareness and improve understanding of Lyme and tickborne disease diagnostics.

Resources

Getting Started: Healthathon Links

• [REQUIRED] The HHS Challenge Participant Registration Form is mandatory for LymeX Visible Voices Prize submission. LymeX Visible Voices Prize site for submissions to win this prize

LymeX Resources and HHS Sites

• CDC site on Lyme disease — https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/
• CURE ID infection-associated chronic condition form including Lyme Disease — (Optional) share real-world treatment experiences.
• HHS site on Lyme disease — Department-wide Lyme disease information: https://www.hhs.gov/lyme/
• LymeX Innovation Accelerator and partnership site
• LymeX Diagnostics Prize (in Phase 4) with $10M in prizes for next-gen Lyme diagnostics
• LymeX Pilot for IACCIs —  InvisibleIllness.Crowdicity.com including Living Clinical Guidelines for Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions and Illnesses (IACCIs)
• NIH NIAID Lyme disease— Research and clinical information: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease/

Reports & Research

• CDC on IACCIs in Emerging Infectious Diseases (2025)—Progress Toward Understanding Infection-Associated Chronic Conditions and Illnesses
• Health+ Lyme Human-Centered Design Report (2021)—Patient-centered insights:
  https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/healthplus-lyme-disease-hcd-report.pdf

U.S. Open Datasets (Select) to Get Started

• Data.gov, the home of U.S. Open Data
• HealthData.gov, the home of HHS Open Data

Sponsors

This challenge is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health  and Human Services (HHS) and the  LymeX Innovation Accelerator.

Lead agency name
HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) in collaboration with CDC, FDA, NIH, and LymeX affiliates.

Non-Federal partners
LymeX Innovation Accelerator, Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

Challenge manager
Kristen Honey

Point of contact email
[email protected]

Lead agency name
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Non-Federal partners
LymeX Innovation Accelerator, Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

Terms of Engagement

LymeX Community Standards: Terms of Engagement The LymeX community brings together patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, technologists, entrepreneurs, innovators, and problem-solvers to turn data into real-world solutions that improve the health and lives of the American people. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily reflect those of HHS, NIH, or the federal government.

Participants are expected to engage with respect, professionalism, openness, and a shared commitment to constructive collaboration guided by the following principles.

Comment Policy and How to Engage

RESPECT: Everyone is valued

We foster an environment that values lived experiences, disciplines, and perspectives. Constructive dialogue and differing viewpoints are encouraged, provided they are expressed with professionalism and courtesy.

INNOVATION: Advancing better solutions

Participants are encouraged to think creatively, challenge assumptions, and explore new approaches. The goal of the sprint is to accelerate meaningful, real-world solutions using open data, evidence, and collaboration.

INTEGRITY: Grounded in truth and evidence

We expect participants to engage honestly and responsibly, using data and evidence to inform ideas and discussions. Misrepresentation of data, manipulation of facts, or misleading claims are not permitted.

EXCELLENCE: Data-driven and user-centered

Solutions should prioritize rigor, usability, and real-world impact. We value approaches that incorporate lived experience, clinical insight, and high-quality data to drive meaningful outcomes.

COMPASSION: Centering the patient experience

This work is grounded in improving lives. Participants should approach all interactions with empathy, recognizing the real-world impact of invisible illness on patients, families, and communities.

COLLABORATION: Co-creating in the open

LymeX is built on open innovation. Participants are encouraged to collaborate across disciplines, share insights, and build on one another’s ideas to maximize public health impact.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Responsible participation

Participants are responsible for their contributions and must comply with all platform rules, challenge requirements, and applicable laws and policies. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and personal health information shared in compliance with applicable laws and policies is permitted. Any PII or personal health records shared in violation of applicable laws, policies, or platform rules may result in content removal and immediate account termination.

Legal and Participation Terms

Participation in this Challenge does not create a clinician-patient relationship, and content shared on the platform does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, guidance, or instruction regarding any disease or health condition. Participants should consult qualified healthcare professionals regarding personal medical decisions or health conditions.

The views expressed by participants do not necessarily reflect those of the HHS, NIH, LymeX, the Federal CDO Council, or the federal government.

Participants retain ownership of all intellectual property in their submissions.

By participating, each Participant represents and warrants that their submission includes only materials they own or have the legal right to use and does not infringe any third-party rights. By submitting, Participants agree to make their submissions available under a Creative Commons license, as specified in the Challenge rules, and grant HHS a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, publish, display, share, and practice the submissions on its behalf.

Submissions must be original, lawful, and free of malicious code or security risks. Participants must comply with all eligibility, participation, and prize requirements outlined in the official Challenge rules.

Challenge Announcement

This challenge is conducted under the America COMPETES Act and is designed to accelerate real-world, data-driven solutions—not to provide grants or financial assistance.

Winners

Winners will be announced following judging of submissions.