Research

The CureME team manage four studies, funded by the ME Association and the US government via the National Institutes of Health. These studies include an eight-year major project conducting research on the immunology, virology and gene-expression of people with ME/CFS, a validation study using saliva and/or urine samples to identify viruses, an award for metabolomics and immunophenotyping, and a support grant for the Biobank.

Active Projects

A longitudinal immunological and virological study for ME/CFS biomarker discovery

Our NIH RO1 study was renewed in 2017 and is the second phase of an eight-year project, which began in 2013. The renewal award will enable comprehensive prospective assessments of cases of ME at regular intervals. All blood samples taken will be stored at the UK ME/CFS Biobank, and will be conducting follow-up visits with participants from the existing Phase 1 cohort over the next three years (as well as new recruits with recent diagnoses of ME).

Our participants will be seen by a research nurse four times over the next three years. At each visit they will have a clinical assessment, have bloods taken, and complete questionnaires about themselves and their health.

The study will generate a wealth of clinical data, which can be analysed in conjunction with laboratory results. The high number of recruits (over 600 individuals), multiple time points, and rigorous protocols for the integration of laboratory and clinical information will allow powerful epidemiological and biomedical conclusions to be drawn.

Read more on the NIH Reporter.

Droplet digital PCR for evaluations of associations between human herpesvirus infection and ME/CFS

Our second US NIH study involves 60 participants sending saliva and urine samples at regular monthly intervals over six months. These samples are stored at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This study is being conducted using a subset of our current Biobank (UKMEB) participants, whose blood samples/data we already have in the Biobank and can be cross-referenced against.

The study is testing for associations between herpesvirus infections and ME/CFS, and piloting a new assay that aims to detect and quantify viral loads from people with ME/CFS at monthly intervals.

Read more on the NIH Reporter.

Metabolic and energy requirements impacting immune function in patients with ME/CFS

This study, funded by the ME Association’s Ramsay Research Fund, is a collaboration with Dr Jo Cambridge and Fane Mensah at University College London. The two institutions are looking at T- and B-cell abnormalities in ME/CFS, and conducting extensive immunophenotyping and metabolomic analyses to further explore potential biomarkers within these cell subsets.

Read more.

Maintaining and securing the future of the UK ME/CFS Biobank

This project is a two-year award from the ME Association Ramsay Research Fund, to provide support for the Biobank and to accelerate the release of samples to approved researchers from around the world. The award includes funding for ongoing Biobank staffing, maintenance, storage and release costs, but also includes capital for developing the Biobank’s international profile, with the aim of opening new income streams for the Biobank, reducing risk and creating a sustainable business model independent of research grant support.