Austria: WE&ME Foundation (formerly TEMPI-Stiftung, TEMPI-Foundation)
Yann04
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
I’ve been to that station so many times before I even knew what ME was. It’s surreal seeing a pic like that in a place I used to know.
Many thanks to @OesterrFrauenla and Ströck Brot for their support in raising awareness for ME/CFS and the donated sales proceeds. We are grateful for every cooperation, help and donation! #stepbystep
OrganicChilli
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Translated into English from https://www.weandmecfs.org/news/gem...-award-unterstützt-forschung-mit-450-000-euro
Together Against ME/CFS: WE&ME Award Supports Research with €450,000
With the newly established WE&ME Award, the WE&ME Foundation is providing €450,000 for the scientific investigation of ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The funding amount was made available via the alpha+ Foundation of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and ranks among the highest privately funded research awards in Austria.
The goal of the award is to enable excellent research projects at Austrian universities and non-university research institutions, in order to gain fundamental insights into the causes, mechanisms, and potential therapeutic approaches for ME/CFS and related post-viral illnesses. The focus is particularly on biomedical studies that adhere to strict international diagnostic criteria (CCC/ICC).
Submissions will be accepted from July to October 2025. The selection of eligible projects will be carried out by the FWF through internationally recognized peer-review procedures. The final funding decisions will be made by the WE&ME Foundation based on the recommendations of the FWF board.
According to current estimates, ME/CFS affects up to 80,000 people in Austria. Particularly young, previously healthy individuals often suffer from severe, long-lasting symptoms. Despite the high disease burden, ME/CFS remains under-researched and medically underserved.
With the WE&ME Award, the foundation is setting another strong signal for the promotion of basic research, following its cooperation with the WWTF in 2024. The collaboration with the FWF is a targeted effort to strengthen Austria as a hub for scientific research and invites both national and international researchers to contribute their expertise to the study of this long-neglected illness.
Together Against ME/CFS: WE&ME Award Supports Research with €450,000
With the newly established WE&ME Award, the WE&ME Foundation is providing €450,000 for the scientific investigation of ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). The funding amount was made available via the alpha+ Foundation of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and ranks among the highest privately funded research awards in Austria.
The goal of the award is to enable excellent research projects at Austrian universities and non-university research institutions, in order to gain fundamental insights into the causes, mechanisms, and potential therapeutic approaches for ME/CFS and related post-viral illnesses. The focus is particularly on biomedical studies that adhere to strict international diagnostic criteria (CCC/ICC).
Submissions will be accepted from July to October 2025. The selection of eligible projects will be carried out by the FWF through internationally recognized peer-review procedures. The final funding decisions will be made by the WE&ME Foundation based on the recommendations of the FWF board.
According to current estimates, ME/CFS affects up to 80,000 people in Austria. Particularly young, previously healthy individuals often suffer from severe, long-lasting symptoms. Despite the high disease burden, ME/CFS remains under-researched and medically underserved.
With the WE&ME Award, the foundation is setting another strong signal for the promotion of basic research, following its cooperation with the WWTF in 2024. The collaboration with the FWF is a targeted effort to strengthen Austria as a hub for scientific research and invites both national and international researchers to contribute their expertise to the study of this long-neglected illness.
There's one on the mathematical side of things, that even has started getting into ME/CFS research because his daughter has ME/CFS. From what I remember there's also already ongoing genetic work in Austria so I don't think anything has to be set up per se.
OrganicChilli
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
This is one of the projects they are currently funding: https://www.wwtf.at/funding/programmes/ei/ME-CFS24-002/
Currently, there is no consensus on the genetic foundations of ME/CFS, although its heritability estimated at up to 50%. While a large-scale GWAS is ongoing in a dedicated ME/CFS cohort (DECODE-ME), our project will complement this by focusing on rare genetic variants. Thus, the aim of this research project is to provide a list of causal genes for ME/CFS to facilitate further testing and characterization in collaboration with clinical researchers and wet lab biologists.
This opportunity arises from the recent availability of whole genome sequencing data from large-scale biobanks such as UK Biobank and All of Us. We can now categorize all protein-altering variants within a gene or other genomic structures like transcription factor binding sites and evaluate their collective impact on ME/CFS. We will utilize the International Consensus Criteria to define cases, however we will also conduct sensitivity analyses around the phenotype definition, and extend our analyses to include long COVID phenotypes within the cohorts mentioned above.
Our primary analysis will be a meta-analysis of data from the UK Biobank and All of Us, which we will, depending on availability, also attempt to replicate using imputed data from the DECODE-ME cohort. This will not only provide the most extensive analysis of rare variants in ME/CFS to date enhancing our knowledge of the condition's causal genes and pathways, but it will also establish a dataspace and collaborative framework for clustering, factor analysis, and other exploratory and epidemiological studies, which we think are essential to fully understand this complex condition. These analyses could also inform subsequent rounds of genetic association tests. Ultimately, the outcomes of these tests may enable stratification of patients and facilitate the categorization of patients into specific subgroups.
Currently, there is no consensus on the genetic foundations of ME/CFS, although its heritability estimated at up to 50%. While a large-scale GWAS is ongoing in a dedicated ME/CFS cohort (DECODE-ME), our project will complement this by focusing on rare genetic variants. Thus, the aim of this research project is to provide a list of causal genes for ME/CFS to facilitate further testing and characterization in collaboration with clinical researchers and wet lab biologists.
This opportunity arises from the recent availability of whole genome sequencing data from large-scale biobanks such as UK Biobank and All of Us. We can now categorize all protein-altering variants within a gene or other genomic structures like transcription factor binding sites and evaluate their collective impact on ME/CFS. We will utilize the International Consensus Criteria to define cases, however we will also conduct sensitivity analyses around the phenotype definition, and extend our analyses to include long COVID phenotypes within the cohorts mentioned above.
Our primary analysis will be a meta-analysis of data from the UK Biobank and All of Us, which we will, depending on availability, also attempt to replicate using imputed data from the DECODE-ME cohort. This will not only provide the most extensive analysis of rare variants in ME/CFS to date enhancing our knowledge of the condition's causal genes and pathways, but it will also establish a dataspace and collaborative framework for clustering, factor analysis, and other exploratory and epidemiological studies, which we think are essential to fully understand this complex condition. These analyses could also inform subsequent rounds of genetic association tests. Ultimately, the outcomes of these tests may enable stratification of patients and facilitate the categorization of patients into specific subgroups.
OrganicChilli
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
And these are all projects currently funded. All of them will conclude next year (links removed)
https://www.weandmecfs.org/research...-sieben-projekte-zu-me-cfs-erhalten-förderung
ME-CFS24-001 Kathryn Hoffmann (Medical University of Vienna)
Adult patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS in Austria. A multi-perspective study.
Duration: 15 months, Funding amount: €99,752
ME-CFS24-002 Matthias Wielscher (Medical University of Vienna)
Genetic architecture of chronic fatigue syndrome
Duration: 12 months, Funding amount: €99,797
ME-CFS24-003 Thomas Vogl (Medical University of Vienna)
Deciphering systemic and mucosal antibody repertoires against the microbiota in ME/CFS and PCC
Duration: 15 months, Funding amount: €99,426
ME-CFS24-004 Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber (Medical University of Vienna)
The impact of mast cell activation on epithelial and endothelial barrier dysregulation in post-infectious ME/CFS
Duration: 12 months, Funding amount: €99,992
ME-CFS24-007 Martin Krssak (Medical University of Vienna)
The role of the skeletal muscle and myocardial metabolism in ME/CFS: in vivo MRS study.
Duration: 15 months, Funding amount: €99,982
ME-CFS24-016 Davide Ret (TU Wien)
Exploring the Glycome: Identifying Glycosylation-Related Biomarkers for severity stratification in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Duration: 12 months, Funding amount: €99,946
ME-CFS24-018 Lukas Haider (Medical University of Vienna)
Investigating Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism Dysfunction as a pathomechanism of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Duration: 14 months, Funding amount: €96,550
https://www.weandmecfs.org/research...-sieben-projekte-zu-me-cfs-erhalten-förderung
ME-CFS24-001 Kathryn Hoffmann (Medical University of Vienna)
Adult patients with severe and very severe ME/CFS in Austria. A multi-perspective study.
Duration: 15 months, Funding amount: €99,752
ME-CFS24-002 Matthias Wielscher (Medical University of Vienna)
Genetic architecture of chronic fatigue syndrome
Duration: 12 months, Funding amount: €99,797
ME-CFS24-003 Thomas Vogl (Medical University of Vienna)
Deciphering systemic and mucosal antibody repertoires against the microbiota in ME/CFS and PCC
Duration: 15 months, Funding amount: €99,426
ME-CFS24-004 Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber (Medical University of Vienna)
The impact of mast cell activation on epithelial and endothelial barrier dysregulation in post-infectious ME/CFS
Duration: 12 months, Funding amount: €99,992
ME-CFS24-007 Martin Krssak (Medical University of Vienna)
The role of the skeletal muscle and myocardial metabolism in ME/CFS: in vivo MRS study.
Duration: 15 months, Funding amount: €99,982
ME-CFS24-016 Davide Ret (TU Wien)
Exploring the Glycome: Identifying Glycosylation-Related Biomarkers for severity stratification in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Duration: 12 months, Funding amount: €99,946
ME-CFS24-018 Lukas Haider (Medical University of Vienna)
Investigating Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism Dysfunction as a pathomechanism of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Duration: 14 months, Funding amount: €96,550