But many some who suffer from the disease, as well as some who study it, have objected to his research, particularly the PACE trial, one of the largest projects on ME/CFS to date, which suggested that exercise and talk therapy may help treat it.
Critics saw the exercise component as flying in the face of the diagnostic criteria of their disease, and the therapy portion as dismissing ME/CFS as a mental health issue.
Many went beyond questioning the research, however, calling Dr Sharpe and his colleagues ‘charlatans‘ and worse.
And that‘s not to mention the countless vitriolic emails that inundated Dr Sharpe‘s inbox.
Some activists are calling for review and replication of Dr Sharpe‘s research – a valuable way of settling scientific disputes.
On the other hand, trolls – including Russian bots in some cases – have fueled dangerous crusades like the anti-vaxxer movement that has made measles a public health threat in the US.
And their social media aggression may be scaring scientists away from doing research in some of the areas it‘s needed most, like ME/CFS.
Dr Sharpe, according to his own Oxford University profile, focuses on complementary psychiatric care for patients with medical conditions.
