Solve ME/CFS Initiative: Discovery Forum 2017: Presentation of Dr. Ian Lipkin, Columbia University

Andy

Andy

Retired committee member
Solve ME/CFS Initiative’s 2nd Annual Discovery Forum, held on October 14th in Washington DC, brings together leaders from across industry, academia, federal agencies, and biotech companies to tackle the most pressing issues confronting ME/CFS today. This recording is the full presentation of Dr. Ian Lipkin, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity and Columbia University.
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"...we [The Chronic Fatigue Initiative group] began to tackle all sorts of interesting problems with the samples that had been gathered and had accumulated: looking at the microbiome, beginning metabolomic research, integrating cytokine and metabolomic work and so forth, and there's a lot of very exciting work from that particular team that will be coming out shortly."
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Can anyone tell me the highlights? I ain't got the energy to watch the full clip, but pretty excited about the work they do.
 
Just watched. A few highlights I recall:

He talked about his own experiences over the last 3 decades with patients with ME/CFS and other conditions, including the work on demonstrating XMRV was not the cause of ME, and the good that came from that in the group built to work on it continuing to collaborate on future ME research.

Other highlights for me - the difficulty of getting papers published when they are debunking a theory.

The history of difficulty getting the NIH to fund ME research, for example his experience of applying 3 times for a particular project. The first time he was rejected because 'CFS is psychological', the second because 'CFS patients all have EBV', the third he got funding.

And bringing up to date - pleased with the funding of the 3 centres, but lots of good projects 'left on the table' that should also have got funding.
 
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Thanks for your notes Trish.

Trish said:
He talked about his own experiences over the last 3 decades with patients with ME/CFS and other conditions, including the work on demonstrating XMRV was not the cause of ME, and the good that came from that in the group built to work on it continuing to collaborate on future ME research.
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That sounds interesting. Especially when some people still try to present XMRV/CFS as some sort of MMR/Autism parallel.
 
I think that was a very good talk. He seems like a competent scientist, and the comments he made towards the end about attitudes towards earmarking funding in institutions and governments were interesting.
 
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