Project Summary:
ME/CFS is a long-term, fluctuating, multi-system condition that affects all age groups and all ethnic and socioeconomic strata. People with ME/CFS experience severe, persistent fatigue associated with post-exertional malaise, the body’s inability to recover after expending even small amounts of energy, leading to a flare-up in symptoms. An estimated 250,000 people are affected by ME/CFS in the UK, there is no test to diagnose ME/CFS and no known cure. A similar number of people are living with Long Covid.
The ME/CFS and Long Covid communities are underserved, neglected and misunderstood by society. This project will contribute population genetics analysis to genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of people with either ME/CFS or Long Covid that seek to reveal the genetic predisposition of these devastating diseases. Simultaneously, the PhD student will chronicle the challenges and successes in how patients, carers, public and scientists join together to achieve a common aim. The influence of genetic findings on patients and the public, and the influence of people with lived experience of ME/CFS or Long Covid on scientists, will be captured in real time. It is expected that perspectives of clinicians, GPs and the general public will be irrevocably transformed by this study.
