{"id":2805,"date":"2026-06-02T18:45:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T18:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/?page_id=2805"},"modified":"2026-06-03T07:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T07:48:09","slug":"history-of-the-uk-me-cfs-biobank","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/history-of-the-uk-me-cfs-biobank\/","title":{"rendered":"History of the UK ME\/CFS biobank"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The main idea:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From one donation to myriad possibilities for research around the world – finding cures and diagnostics for ME\/CFS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why should you use the biobank ?<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
How to apply for samples<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Publications<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The most comprehensive longitudinal ME\/CFS biobank in the world, designed to track change over time and support research worldwide, including samples collected before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CureME was founded by Eliana Lacerda and Luis Nacul at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine following more than a decade of work in ME\/CFS research. Their vision was to create a world-leading research programme and a high-quality biobank that could transform understanding of ME\/CFS through rigorous clinical, epidemiological and laboratory science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, they established the UK ME\/CFS Biobank with support from ME charities, researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience of ME\/CFS. Under their leadership, the biobank has grown into the largest ME\/CFS biobank in Europe and holds the world\u2019s largest longitudinal collection of ME\/CFS samples and clinical data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A major strength of the collection is that it includes samples gathered both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This provides a unique opportunity to investigate the biological mechanisms of ME\/CFS and Long COVID, helping researchers distinguish ME\/CFS from post-COVID illness while also identifying areas of overlap between the conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, CureME is recognised internationally as a leading centre for ME\/CFS research. The team brings together clinicians, epidemiologists and immunologists  and has led major collaborative studies funded by UK charities and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Founders of the UK – ME\/CFS biobank<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Dr Luis Nacul co-founded CureME and directs its multidisciplinary research programme, combining epidemiology, clinical care and public health to advance understanding of ME\/CFS worldwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Dr Eliana Lacerda\u00a0led the clinical and scientific development of CureME from 2007 until she retired in 2025, helping establish the UK ME\/CFS Biobank and advancing international research into ME\/CFS and Long COVID.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The main idea: From one donation to myriad possibilities for research around the world – finding cures and diagnostics for ME\/CFS Leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of tomorrow. The most comprehensive longitudinal ME\/CFS biobank in the world, designed to track change over time and support research worldwide, including samples collected before and after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2805","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2805"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2825,"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2805\/revisions\/2825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cureme.lshtm.ac.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}