What research do we fund?
In our research strategy, we aim to address the shortage of ME researchers by supporting early-career researchers through initiatives like the Future Leaders programme—a network of young researchers specialising in ME—as well as by directly funding research projects led by early-career researchers.
All funding applications we receive are put through a five-stage funding assessment process, overseen by our Research Panel, with input from our Scientific Advisory Panel and people with ME.
Research we are currently funding
- The first Clare Francis Research fellowship was awarded to Audrey Ryback. Audrey will be affiliated to the Genetics Centre of Excellence at the University of Edinburgh, with Professor Chris Ponting supervising the 2-year fellowship. Addressing research priorities 3 (accurate and reliable diagnostic test) and 10 (understanding the impact of ME/CFS on mitochondria) as identified by The ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership, Audrey’s research aims to identify serum factors possibly causing changes to mitochondria in those with ME/CFS which could, in turn, be developed into a diagnostic test.
Previously funded research projects
- an autonomic dysfunction feasibility study at Newcastle University
- research into the neurophysiology of pain in ME, the funds for which we managed, having accepted a donation of funds from the CFS Research Foundation for this work
- a study comparing patterns of mitochondrial DNA variation in people with ME and healthy controls
- a study into muscle dysfunction in ME at Newcastle University
- a study into immune responses in ME at Newcastle University.
- PhD-level research, jointly with King’s College London, funded jointly by Action for ME and ME Research UK looking at Retrotransposon Insertion Polymorphism, a type of genetic variation (from June 2022)
- a University of Edinburgh PhD Studentship comparing immune cells (T cells) from people with ME with those from controls (from June 2018)
- a brain inflammation PhD Studentship supervised by Prof Neil Harrison, now based at Cardiff University (from June 2018).
