Craig McLaughlin
Lewis Shotton
Susanna Keeton
MEET OUR TEAM
After 16 years in the medical field, Erin Dawicki pivoted with a return to academia and a goal
of improving healthcare systems.
While enrolled at MIT Sloan School of Management, Erin began to brainstorm ideas to accelerate the diagnostic process for detection of vector-borne diseases (vector aka: a biting insect or tick). Living in an area with a high concentration of Lyme-carrying ticks, Erin’s patients often asked
for advice on what to do after removing a tick.
Erin put the two together and created a game-changing solution with a team out of MIT Sloan, the LymeAlert at-home tick testing kit and Tick Crusher.
Craig McLaughlin
When he is not in the office, he enjoys playing ice hockey, going to the beach, and hiking.
Craig is a CPA who provides accounting, tax, and financial planning services to small businesses and individual clients throughout the Boston area. He brings over a decade of diverse financial expertise, having served as a Fiscal Team Leader with the U.S. Department of Labor, an Audit Manager in public accounting, and as both a Revenue Agent and Revenue Officer with the Internal Revenue Service.
CFO
Lewis Shotton
When he's not in the lab, he's hammering metal at the silversmithing bench, getting lost on a hiking trail, or chasing down tennis balls on the weekend.
Lewis is a bioengineer with years of experience in a material synthesis and characterization lab at Oregon State, where he led a capstone project focused on designing and optimizing lateral flow assays for disease detection.
Lead Researcher and Co-Founder
Susanna Keeton
In her off time, she enjoys spending time in the White Mountains.
Susie is a product leader who turns bold ideas into market-ready solutions, with a track record of scaling early innovations and leading successful launches. At Lyme Alert, she applies deep product expertise to advance the mission of detecting Lyme disease at the earliest point of exposure.
Product Leader
Casey Tilli
Casey enjoys staying active and spending time outdoors. She balances her love for travel and exploring new places by getting lost in a good book.
Chief Marketing Officer
Casey is a seasoned marketing executive with two decades of experience. She brings a diverse portfolio of expertise leading campaigns, driving growth, cultivating partnerships, and launching new brands.
Carissa Qiu
In her free time, she enjoys nature, playing pickleball, and traveling.
Business Development Intern
Carissa is an undergraduate student at MIT studying finance and economics. Her goal is to raise awareness about tick-borne diseases and support public health initiatives.
Rick Sullivan
Outside of work, Rick is a marathon enthusiast and proud World Marathon Majors finisher, logging 20,000+ miles over the past decade while exploring the world — guided by his motto, “For Those Who Can’t.” A proud Virginia Tech Hokie, but even prouder family man on Team Sullivan that includes a lively crew of four-legged companions like Oakley.
Chief Commercial Officer
Rick is an entrepreneurial product and growth leader who bridges early-stage innovation to enterprise-scale commercialization by translating data, IP, and products into market-ready businesses and growth engines. He’s held senior global roles at HP, DXC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and EDS, scaling multi-billion-dollar businesses.
Erin Dawicki
When she's not out dragging for ticks to crush for the lab team, Erin enjoys hiking, backcountry skiing, paddleboarding, archery, soccer and any outdoor adventure that gives her the excuse to try out new gear. She is married to the world's most supportive husband, mom to 2 daughters, 2 dogs, and 2 guinea pigs.
Erin is a Physician Associate with 16 years of experience primarily in Orthopedic Surgery and more recently, Urgent Care. Due to her strong belief that access to healthcare is a fundamental right for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, she left clinical practice to join the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA program where her course of studies centered on leveraging emerging technology to build a better healthcare system. LymeAlert was founded thanks to the support of several classes and programs through MIT and MIT Sloan where she met her similarly mission-driven co-founders.
CEO and Co-founder
Michelle Ewy
In her free time, Michelle, her husband, and their dog, Kali, love getting outdoors to explore and enjoy nature. They recently expanded their crew with two reformed barn kittens, Arthur and Findlay, who quickly traded hay bales for cozy blankets and have made it their mission to keep Kali on her toes.
Dr. Michelle E. Ewy is a scientist, entrepreneur, and Air Force veteran with over 20 years of experience in chemistry, biotechnology, and strategic leadership, including roles in research, operations, and science policy. Her technical expertise and mission-driven approach make her exceptionally well-suited to lead the development of innovative diagnostics for Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
CSO and Co-founder
Brenda Ong
In her spare time, Brenda enjoys hiking, tinkering with technology, cooking and yoga.
Brenda is a Sloan Fellow MBA with more than a decade’s experience in public safety, operations and communications with the Singapore government. She was previously Head Operations for a land division, and led public communications for the police.