Solve ME/CFS Initiative: Ramsay Grant program 2019 awards

2019 is our biggest year yet! We have over 30 researchers working across seven projects. The group represents 12 academic centers and organizations. Three of the studies will be done collaboratively, integrating scientists from different labs.

“Altered T cells in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)“

Liisa Selin (PhD) and Anna Gil (PhD)
University of Massachusetts Medical School


“Possible class II MHC deficiency in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)”

Bruno Paiva (PhD)
University of Navarra, Spain
Collaborators: Manuel Ruiz Pablos, Rosario Montero Mateo (MD), Aintzane Zabaleta Azpiroz (PhD), Diego Alignani (PhD), Idoya Rodriguez Serrano, Sonia Garate Luzuriaga


“Defining the postural contributors to post-exertional malaise (PEM) in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)”

Shad Roundy (PhD)
University of Utah
Collaborators: Cindy Bateman (MD), Turner Palombo, Andrea Campos


“Extensive characterization of the ME/CFS blood and CSF microbiome + virome ”

Nikos Kyripides (PhD), David Paez-Espino (PhD), Kris Fobes
Berkeley University DOE Joint Genome Institute; GeneSavvy
Collaborators: Amy Proal (PhD), Jonas Bergquist (MD, PhD), Robert Moir (PhD)


“Unraveling endothelial function in ME/CFS”

Francisco Westermeier (PhD)
FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Austria
Collaborators: Nandu Gowami (MD, PhD), Nuno Sepulveda (PhD), Monika Riederer (PhD), Bernhard Wagner (PhD), Jennifer Blauensteiner (PhD)


“PARsing post-exertional malaise: does post-exertional autonomic recovery (PAR) impact post-exertional malaise?”

Kegan Moneghetti (PhD)
Stanford University
Collaborators: Lily Chu (MD), Jeffrey Christie (PhD), Donn Gavert (MS), Tullia Lieb


“Brain perfusion changes in chronic fatigue syndrome before and after exercise challenge”

Michael Van Elzakker (PhD) and Kenneth Kwong (PhD)
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Collaborator: Suk-tak (Phoebe) Chan (PhD)

Visit https://solvecfs.org/smci-ramsay-grant-program/ to learn about each individual project.

Also, watch out for a video I recorded with Allison Ramiller and Dr Sadie Whittaker from Solve where we briefly discuss each of these projects. I'm still editing it at the moment but hope to be able to release it soon.

ETA: The video mentioned above is now available here, https://www.s4me.info/threads/video...their-ramsay-grant-program.12004/#post-212816

 

@Simon M @Chris Ponting
You guys will be interested in this. The team are looking at rare CD4+CD8+ Tcells and quantifying the TCR repertoire of this unique population
https://solvecfs.org/liisa-selin-and-anna-gil/

 

Great.

 

Way to go SMCI!

This is what can be done, as opposed to government research granting agencies who say they don't receive enough applications for ME; or enough quality applications.

The Solve ME/CFS Initiative does.

Of course quality applications are out there!

Lame excuse by government agencies.

Hope they move off this mantra.

 

“Possible class II MHC deficiency in patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)”

Bruno Paiva (PhD)
University of Navarra, Spain
Collaborators: Manuel Ruiz Pablos, Rosario Montero Mateo (MD), Aintzane Zabaleta Azpiroz (PhD), Diego Alignani (PhD), Idoya Rodriguez Serrano, Sonia Garate Luzuriaga


Middleton D, Savage DA, Smith DG. No association of HLA class II antigens in
chronic fatigue syndrome. Dis Markers. 1991 Jan-Feb;9(1):47-9. PubMed PMID:
1683826.

 

Great to see some new names in there! Solve is doing a terrific job with these seed grants!

 

There is a difference between the Ramsey Grants and the NIH grants, though. Ramsey Grants are preliminary studies. When they obtain promising data, they can go to NIH for a larger grant. I actually believe NIH when they say that they are receiving grant proposals. All of the information that advocates have obtained confirms that.

The Ramsey Grants and other pilot studies should lead to larger grants - Dr Younger is a great example. But right now there are things that NIH could be doing to jump start the field. The #NotEnough4ME letter to Dr Koroshetz lays many of them out.

 

Is there any info as to the combined total of funds for these seed studies? They look impressive and it’s nice to see a range and increase in number.

 

https://solvecfs.org/about-the-ramsay-grant-program/

 

Very interesting indeed, i am particurlarly happy that Dr Van Elzakker will have the funds to look more at brain perfusion.

 

Do researchers new to the field get some sort of coaching from Solve ME/CFS?

One or two of the abstracts seem to indicate a somewhat patchy understanding of ME. That's not to say the projects are of no value or that new researchers aren't welcome - quite the opposite - only that ME is complex and it naturally takes a while to fully get your head around it.

From Liisa Selin and Anna Gil's project “Altered T cells in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)”

Has anything been presented about these early findings? They sound intriguing, in a preliminary sort of way.

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11926-2

Moreover, we showed that a greater proportion of CD4+CD8+ T lymphocytes have an enhanced capacity to produce cytokines (IFNγ, TNFα, IL-2, IL-4, IL-17A) and lytic enzymes (perforin, granzyme B) compared to CD4+ and/or CD8+ T lymphocytes.

 

This gets covered in the video that should be released in the next day or so. In order to assist researchers applying to the Ramsay Program, particular those new to the field, they have put together this document which they call a Researcher Toolkit, which includes an overview of what ME is for patients, https://solvecfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Toolkit-2019-Final.pdf

Additionally, all applications go through a peer review process which should pick up any applications that really don't have a proper understanding of ME.

The only thing published that talks about CFS is this review paper here from 2011, https://www.s4me.info/threads/heter...ring-viral-infections-2011-selin-et-al.11905/

I haven't asked the question but my guess is that perhaps they have been doing unfunded preliminary work which has given them this data.

 

https://ashpublications.org/blood/a...Peripheral-CD4-CD8-T-cells-are-differentiated

IMMUNOBIOLOGY| July 15, 2004
Peripheral CD4+CD8+ T cells are differentiated effector memory cells with antiviral functions
Michelina Nascimbeni
,
Eui-Cheol Shin
,
Luis Chiriboga
,
David E. Kleiner
,
Barbara Rehermann

Blood (2004) 104 (2): 478-486.
https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2003-12-4395

 

An interesting previous study that Selin and Gil were authors on that might have some relevance is posted in the first post of this thread, https://www.s4me.info/threads/sever...ptor-repertoires-nuray-aslan-et-al-2017.1426/, Severity of Acute Infectious Mononucleosis Correlates with Cross-Reactive Influenza CD8 T-Cell Receptor Repertoires

 

Video now available here, https://www.s4me.info/threads/video...their-ramsay-grant-program.12004/#post-212816

 

From: https://solvecfs.org/kegan-moneghetti/

Unfortunatey, Kegan seems to be unaware that Max Nelson et al. did investigate just that, namely heart rate recovery after 2 day CPET. (and found no meaningful difference)

There may be ANS differences, but I strongly suspect they are an additional symptom, a consequence (and possibly even positive adaptation) not a cause of the symptoms.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1193227864767901697


Well, that's me told then....

 

Very happy and grateful for these grants, there are some seriously good researchers here, particularly interested in Michael Van Elzakker and Amy Proal's work as well as the endothelial function investigation. Great to see researchers from many different parts of the globe.


B