ME/CFS Canadian Collaborative Team Conference

The ME/CFS Canadian Collaborative Team Conference is sponsored by the ME/CFS Canadian Collaborative Team.

2018
The first conference was held May 3-5, 2018, in Montreal, Canada.

Day 1 Speakers

 * Morris Duhaime, MD, Conference Chair - Welcome address

Session 1 - ME/CFS: Spectrum of a Complex and Chronic Disease

 * Alison C. Bested, M.D., FRCP(C), Clinical Director, Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA - Review of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Clinicians
 * Byron Hyde, M.D., Nightingale Research Foundation, Ottawa, Canada - Brain Imaging and How to Examine a Prospective ME/CFS Patient
 * Peter C. Rowe, M.D., Director, Children’s Center Chronic Fatigue Clinic, John-Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA - Orthostatic Intolerance in ME/CFS
 * Ric Arseneau, M.D., FRCP(C), MA(Ed), MBA, FACP, CGP, Clinical Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, St. Paul’s Hospital, Women’s Hospital, University of British Columbia, Canada - ME/CFS: Central Sensitivity Syndromes and the Complex Chronic Diseases Program at BC Women’s Hospital
 * Lucinda Bateman, M.D., Founder and Medical Director, Bateman Horne Center, Salt Lake City, USA - Objective Diagnosis of ME/CFS
 * Roland Staud, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Florida, USA - Peripheral and Central Mechanisms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Session 2a - How to Differentiate and Manage ME/CFS

 * Eleanor Stein, M.D., FRCP(C), Calgary, Canada - Differentiating ME/CFS from Psychiatric Disorders
 * Peter C. Rowe, M.D., Director, Children’s Center Chronic Fatigue Clinic, John-Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA - Management of Pediatric ME/CFS
 * Betsy Keller, PhD, Professor, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Ithaca College, Ithaca, USA - What Do We Learn About ME/CFS From a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test?


 * Riina I. Bray, BASc, MSc, M.D., FCFP, MHSc, Medical Director, Environmental Health Clinic, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Canada - Diagnostic Dilemmas: Etiology and Treatment of the Fatigued Patient
 * Kevin Mejo, BPharm, Montréal, Canada - ME/CFS Pharmacotherapies and Drug Interactions
 * Alain Moreau, Chair, Scientific Committee, Professor, University of Montreal, Canada - Closing Remarks

Session 2b - Pre-Conference Workshop on Meeting Unmet Needs

 * Organized by the National ME/FM Action Network

Day 2 Speakers

 * Byron Hyde, M.D., Nightingale Research Foundation, Ottawa, Canada - A Short History of ME and CFS
 * Ronald Davis, PhD, Director, Stanford Genome Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA - The Future of ME/CFS Research in the Multiomic and Big Data Era

Session 1a - Genetics, Genomics and Epigenetics

 * Wilfred de Vega, PhD, University of Toronto, Canada - The Epigenetic Landscape of ME/CFS: Deciphering Complex Phenotypes
 * Ronald Davis, PhD, Director, Stanford Genome Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA - An Integrative, Molecular, Data and Technology-Driven Approach to ME/CFS
 * Alain Moreau, Professor, University of Montreal, Canada - Genetic and Nutriepigenetic Regulation of Plasma Homocysteine Levels in ME/CFS
 * Alexis Goth, M.D., and Tara Sampalli, PhD, Integrated Chronic Care Service in Primary Health Care at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, Canada - Cultivating Change: Leveraging Epigenetics via Lifestyle Modification: An Integrative Multidisciplinary Treatment Model in ME/CFS

Session 2a - Biochemistry, Metabolomics and Proteomics

 * Maureen Hanson, M.D., Cornell University, Ithaca, USA - Metabolism in ME/CFS
 * Jonas Bergquist, M.D., PhD, Uppsala University, Sweden - The Biochemistry to Support the Evidence of Neuroinflammatory Involvement in ME/CFS
 * Cara Tomas, PhD candidate, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Newcastle University, UK - Cellular Bioenergetics is Impaired in Patients with ME/CFS
 * Peter C. Rowe, M.D., Director, Children’s Center Chronic Fatigue Clinic, John-Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA - Connective Tissue Laxity and Adverse Neural Tension in ME/CFS

Session 3a - Infection, Immunity and Clinical Research

 * Amir Landi, M.D., PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada - Diagnosis of ME/CFS: Can Immune Modulators Play a Role?
 * Luis Nacul, M.D., PhD, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, CURE-ME Team, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Disability and Eye Health Group, UK - Epidemiological and Clinical Research in ME/CFS: How Can They Support Hypothesis Generation and Testing?
 * Carmen Scheibenbogen, M.D., Professor and Deputy Chair, Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany - Clinical Trial on Immunoadsorption in ME/CFS
 * Derya Unutmaz, M.D., The Jackson Laboratory, Farmington, USA - Fine-Tuned Interaction Between Human Immune System and Gut Microbiota: Potential Impact on ME/CFS

Session 4a - Biomarkers, Biobanking, and Clinical Trials

 * Carmen Scheibenbogen, M.D., Professor and Deputy Chair, Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany - The EUROMENE Biomarker Project
 * Roland Staud, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Florida, USA - Cerebral Blood Flow and Functional Connectivity in ME/CFS
 * Luis Nacul, M.D., PhD, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, CURE-ME Team, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Disability and Eye Health Group, UK - UK ME/CFS Biobank: A Resource for International Research
 * Chris Armstrong, BSc, Researcher, University of Melbourne, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Melbourne, Australia - Australian ME/CFS Databases and Biobanks: The Down Under Experiences
 * Nancy Klimas, M.D., Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Dr Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University and Director of Environmental Medicine, Miami VA Medical Center, USA - From Biomarkers and Modeling to Implemented Targeted Clinical Trials: Comparison Between Gulf War Illness and ME/CFS
 * Vicky Holets Whittemore, PhD, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA - The Future of Research on ME/CFS
 * Linda Tannenbaum, CEO/President, Open Medicine Foundation, Los Angeles, USA

Session 1b - What We Know and Still Don’t Know About ME/CFS Etiology and Pathomechanism

 * Alison C. Bested, M.D., FRCP(C), Clinical Director, Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, USA - Pathophysiological Mechanisms in ME/CFS
 * Lucinda Bateman, M.D., Founder and Medical Director, Bateman Horne Center, Salt Lake City, USA - Objective Diagnosis of ME/CFS
 * Eleanor Stein, M.D., FRCP(C), Calgary, Canada - ME/CFS: Could Neuroplasticity Play a Role?

Session 2b - Advancing ME/CFS Research and Treatments

 * Margaret Parlor, President of the National ME/FM Action Network, Ottawa, Canada - ME/CFS Research Landscape in Canada: How Can Science/Innovation Address Unmet Needs?


 * Betsy Keller, PhD, Professor, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Ithaca College, Ithaca, USA - Is Heart Rate a Valid Exertional Index in ME/CFS?


 * Eleanor Stein, MD, FRCP(C), Calgary, Canada and Judy-Anne Wilson, representative of Edmonton ME Society and Alison Rae, Board Chair and CEO, Action CIND - Alberta Healthy Living Program: The Role of ME/CFS Education

Session 3b - Panel Discussion 1: Meet the Experts

 * Kevin Mejo, BPharm - Medication and ME
 * Valérie Marcil, PhD, DtP - Nutrition and ME
 * Alexis Goth, MD, CCFP(C) - Genetics and ME

Session 4b - Panel Discussion 2: Creating a Transformative Research Agenda for ME/CFS
Panellists / Experts: Diane Ching, President, ME Society of Edmonton; Kati Debelic, Board Member, ME/FM Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia Society of BC, Canada; Barbara Fifield, Co-founder, Millions Missing Canada; Bev Friesen, Chairperson of the Board, Manitoba ME/CFS Support Group, Canada, Gloria Gray, President, M.E. Victoria Association, BC, Canada, Carol Head, President and CEO of ME/CFS Initiative; Kimberly Hicks, Board Member and Treasurer, Open Medicine Foundation, Los Angeles, USA; Valérie Miller, General Coordinator of Association Québécoise de l’Encéphalomyélite Myalgique (AQEM), Canada; Margaret Parlor, President, The National ME/FM Action Network, ON, Canada; Alison Rae, Board Chair and CEO, Action CIND, ON, Canada; Elizabeth Sanchez, President, ME/FM Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia Society of BC, Canada; Linda Tannenbaum, CEO/President, Open Medicine Foundation, Los Angeles, USA

Day 2 Speakers

 * Alain Moreau, PhD, Chairman of the Scientific Committee, Full Professor, University of Montreal, Canada - Introduction and Objectives

Session 1 - Developing ME/CFS Networks and International Collaboration

 * Raeka Aiyar, PhD, Stanford University and Open Medicine Foundation, Palo Alto, CA, USA - Moderator: Developing ME/CFS Networks and International Collaboration
 * Margaret Parlor, President of the National ME/FM Action Network, Ottawa, Canada - Report from the ME/CFS Patient Community about Creating a Transformative Agenda for ME/CFS
 * Becky McNeil, PhD, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Division, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA - The Common Data Element Challenge in Establishing ME/CFS Research Consortia

Event program

 * 1st ME/CFS Canadian Collaborative Team Conference