CureME

CureME is a British research group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), undertaking clinical and biomedical research into ME/CFS. The team is led by Luis Nacul.

Overview
The group conducts clinical, epidemiological and laboratory research into ME/CFS, and is comprised of a clinical team led by Luis Nacul and Eliana Lacerda and a laboratory team led by Hazel Dockrell and Jacqueline Cliff.

The group is midway through an eight-year major study into ME/CFS funded by the National Institutes of Health, which is seeking to create results through integrated desk and laboratory research, over an extended timespan and using a large number of participants.

The team is overseen by a Steering Committee that includes researchers, partner charities and patient/carer representatives.

The UK ME/CFS Biobank
In August 2011, the team founded a biobank, hosted by the University College London Biobank at the Royal Free Hospital. The Biobank was initially funded with support from ME Research UK, the ME Association and Action for ME as well as private donors. Ongoing funding has been provided by the ME Association and the US National Institutes of Health.

The Biobank holds over 30,000 aliquots of blood from people with ME, MS and healthy controls, with accompanying clinical data. In 2016 the Biobank's samples were made available to researchers around the world, and any researcher can apply to use samples and/or clinical data, subject to application approval and ethical clearance.

Notable people
As of January 2019, the members of the group include:
 * Luis Nacul - Co-Principal Investigator (Clinical)
 * Eliana Lacerda - Assistant Clinical Professor
 * Hazel Dockrell - Co-Principal Investigator (Lab)
 * Jacqueline Cliff - Assistant Professor & Laboratory Lead
 * Caroline Kingdon - Research Fellow & Biobank Coordinator
 * Jack Butterworth - Project Manager
 * Kathleen Mudie - Research Fellow
 * Dio Giotas - Research Nurse
 * Shennae O'Boyle - Research Assistant
 * Ji Sook Lee - Research Fellow
 * Liz King - Technical Officer
 * Taane Clark - Co-Investigator
 * Nuno Sepulveda - Assistant Professor and Statistician

Notable studies

 * 2011, Prevalence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in three regions of England: a repeated cross-sectional study in primary care
 * 2011, Social support needs for equity in health and social care: a thematic analysis of experiences of people with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis
 * 2014, Considerations in establishing a post-mortem brain and tissue bank for the study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a proposed protocol
 * 2017, How have selection bias and disease misclassification undermined the validity of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome studies?
 * 2017, Differing case definitions point to the need for an accurate diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
 * 2017, Prevalence of and risk factors for severe cognitive and sleep symptoms in ME/CFS and MS
 * 2017, The UK ME/CFS Biobank for biomedical research on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Multiple Sclerosis
 * 2017, The European ME/CFS Biomarker Landscape project: an initiative of the European network EUROMENE
 * 2017, Using a participatory approach to develop and implement the UK ME/CFS Biobank
 * 2018, Functional Status and Well-Being in People with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Compared with People with Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls
 * 2018, Prevalence and incidence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome in Europe-the Euro-epiME study from the European network EUROMENE: a protocol for a systematic review
 * 2018, The UK ME/CFS Biobank: A Disease-Specific Biobank for Advancing Clinical Research Into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Full text)
 * 2019, Hope, disappointment and perseverance: Reflections of people with Myalgic encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Multiple Sclerosis participating in biomedical research. A qualitative focus group study.

Talks & Interviews

 * The UK ME/CFS Biobank introductory video
 * BBC Newsbeat documentary 'M.E. and Me', featuring members of the team
 * Q&A with members of the Science for ME patient forum, December 14th, 2017.

Learn more

 * CureME Website