Solve ME/CFS: $547,000 Awarded from Defense Department for ME/CFS Research

Solve ME/CFS tweeted this today:

Code:

https://twitter.com/PlzSolveCFS/status/1319407326621827078

https://twitter.com/user/status/1319407326621827078

I wanted a bit more info so I searched their website and found this (scroll down past the invisible disabilities week info):

https://solvecfs.org/honoring-people-with-me-cfs-for-invisible-disabilities-week/

I'd like to know which two ME/CFS research projects got funded but I can't seem to find that info. I did find this page before running out of steam - https://cdmrp.army.mil/prmrp/default

Edit: Just wanted to add that for some reason I have a really hard time navigating the Solve ME/CFS website. Maybe it's just me...

 

Only 100x more to go to equal the US NCCIH, which is tasked with attempting to validate homeopathy, acupuncture, chelation, reikki and everything else ‘60s leftovers still think is kewl. Unsurprisingly, after consuming the better part of $1,000,000,000, NCCIH has discovered zero new treatments for any stage of any disease.

 

Sounds like good news!

 

They need to put in a lot of dosh to undo the damage caused by the Chemical Corps' funding of Imboden, Canter and Cluff. It would be interesting to know the amount invested, adjusted for inflation or depreciation.

 

Hey everyone!

Thanks for helping us get the word out about the good news! I do not have information about the content or subjects of the specific awards funded. You can find the breakdown here:
https://cdmrp.army.mil/prmrp/pdfs/W81XWH-20-PRMRP-DA_Information Paper.pdf

and the list of funded projects (by institution and principle investigator) here:
https://cdmrp.army.mil/prmrp/awards/20daawards

Keep in mind that these are awards for the FY20 Federal budget cycle. We are still fighting hard for this program to continue next year in the FY21 Federal Budget, which still has not been passed by Congress. If Congress fails to pass a FY21 budget, the program will revert back to the FY 20 spending levels and researchers will have the opportunity to reapply again in calendar Year 2021.

All the best,

~Emily

 

From a Solve email.

Dear friends,

Since 2017, unleashing the potential research funds from the Department of Defense (DOD) for ME/CFS has been one of my highest priorities. After more than three years of hard work, the first ME/CFS awards *ever* funded by Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) have been announced! I know this has been a really hard year for all of us, which is what makes this historic victory extra special.

Thanks to your advocacy, two research awards have been announced totalling $547,000 for the next two years. Congratulations to the winning research teams! These two initiatives are led by:

• Dr. Rosa Maria Pari Ñaña, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Brigham & Women’s Hospital
• Dr. Dan Wilkinson, Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham

We succeeded because of you! You sent 12,579 messages to Congress on this issue through the Solve M.E. advocacy action center in addition to hundreds of phone calls and meetings. You demanded the reinstatement of ME/CFS as an eligible topic area for the PRMRP in 2020.

Because of your voices, Solve M.E. leadership, and the work of our advocacy partners, the PRMRP added ME/CFS as an eligible topic area this year for the first time since 2011. Seven ME/CFS researchers submitted compliant applications. Yet, Drs. Pari Ñaña and Wilkenson are leading the first ME/CFS grant awards ever funded by the PRMRP.

Former Solve M.E. CEO Carol Head recalls the path to making this happen:

“We understood that federal funds were essential to progress against devastating diseases like M.E. And we understood that the NIH would be slower than our patience could endure. Once we understood that there was a different bucket of funds controlled by Congress, we developed a laser focus on the path to unleashing those Department of Defense funds. And we got it done in less than three years. That’s light speed!”

Solve M.E.’s current CEO Oved Amitay notes that this is good news for our current advocacy efforts:

“We are taking lessons from this success and applying them to the current COVID-19 situation. As evidenced in our recent letter to Congress, we’re working to create additional funding mechanisms to support new NIH and CDC research into the health needs of the rapidly growing long-COVID patient population and people with ME/CFS.”

Of course, this achievement would not have happened without your support. We are so grateful for your passion in advocating for ME/CFS!

In addition to lending your voice, you can make a gift of any amount to Solve M.E. We will put your donation to work, reaching further for progress in research, legislation, and education. Your gift is crucial to the fight against ME/CFS!

Thank you again for your hard work and support and A SPECIAL THANK YOU for celebrating this victory with Solve M.E. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

 

OMF e-mailed an interview with one of the recipients of DoD funding, Dan Wilkinson. Here is the jist of what he says his project is about. Note he will be working in association with Ron Tompkins and Wenzhong Xiao, of the Harvard OMF.

The other project was also named.

*Stay tuned for an interview with ME/CFS researcher Dr. Rosa Maria Pari Ñaña on her Discovery Award research entitled, “Neurovascular Dysregulation in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome." *

 

Great work from you and others at Solve M.E./CFS