OUR STORY
Alpha-Gal Initiative was founded by a Virginia high-school student after Alpha-gal syndrome became personal. After years of experiencing the impact of tick-borne illness within her own family, including her own health, she was diagnosed with Alpha-gal syndrome. What initially seemed like a relatively straightforward food allergy turned out to be much more complicated. For some people, Alpha-gal means avoiding mammalian meat. For others, it can mean fume reactions, navigating dairy, medications, personal-care products and other unexpected sources of mammal-derived ingredients. At the same time, she began noticing how common Alpha-gal had become around Charlottesville. It seemed that almost everyone she talked to either knew someone with Alpha-gal or had been diagnosed themselves. She founded Alpha-Gal Initiative to raise awareness and direct money toward the researchers working to understand the disease and find a cure. 100% of Alpha-Gal Initiative's net proceeds are donated to Alpha-gal research at UNC and UVA