Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik

Sonya M. Marshall-Gradisnik, BSc (Hons), PhD, is co-director (alongside Professor Donald Staines) of the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) at Griffith University in Australia. Her expertise is in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis with particular focus on Natural Killer Cell function and signalling pathways, T regulatory and B cell phenotypes and cytokine production, and transcriptional profiling and gene expression. In her studies, she compares the changes of the different cells of the immune system in relation to the severity of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Professor Marshall-Gradisnik established the first Australian CFS/ME research/medical clinic at Griffith University, which was developed in conjunction with Queensland Health and CFS public health programs and provides clinical support for patients and carers at Gold Cost University Hospital, Griffith University. Later she established a mobile CFS research clinic to ensure the most severely affected CFS patients are able to have medical attention as well as participate in research.

Awards

 * Queensland Women in Technology Research Award Rising Star Award for her research into immunological biomarkers for CFS or ME in 2010


 * National Award as Best Young Science Investigator at the Australian Conference for Science and Medicine for her studies into natural killer cell function and genotyping
 * Finalist in Young Australian of the Year Award Science and Technology Category

International Consensus Criteria
2011 - Marshall-Gradisnik co-authored the 2011 case definition, International Consensus Criteria.

International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Marshall-Gradisnik serves on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME).

Austrialia National Health and Medical Research Council's ME and CFS advisory committee
2018 - Prof Marshall-Gradisnik serves on the Australian government's National Health and Medical Research Council's ME and CFS advisory committee.

Biomarker Patent
In 2016, Griffith University filed for a patent for a biological marker (Patent Publication number WO2016023077 A1) for the diagnosis and management of ME and CFS. Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik and Ekua Brenu are listed as the inventors. The application states: "The present invention resides broadly in the use of at least one miRNA as a biological marker for identifying or diagnosing a subject having CFS and/or ME."

Notable studies

 * 2011, Immunological abnormalities as potential biomarkers in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
 * 2012, The Effects of Influenza Vaccination on Immune Function in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
 * 2013, The role of clinical guidelines for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis in research settings (Abstract)
 * 2014, Characterization of Natural Killer Cell Phenotypes in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
 * 2014, The Role of Adaptive and Innate Immune Cells in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
 * 2014, Analysis of the Relationship between Immune Dysfunction and Symptom Severity in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) (Full Text)
 * 2015, A Comparison of Cytokine Profiles of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Multiple Sclerosis Patients (Full Text)
 * 2015, Cytokines in the Cerebrospinal Fluids of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full Text)
 * 2015, Serum Immune Proteins in Moderate and Severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients (Full Text)
 * 2015, Longitudinal analysis of immune abnormalities in varying severities of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients (Full Text)
 * 2015, Characterisation of cell functions and receptors in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) (Full Text)
 * 2015, Examination of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Ion Channels in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients (Full Text)
 * 2016, A Systematic Review of Drug Therapies for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Abstract)
 * 2016, Progressive brain changes in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome: A longitudinal MRI study (Full Text)
 * 2016, Regulatory T, natural killer T and γδ T cells in multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a comparison. (Full Text)
 * 2016, Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genotype and Haplotype Investigation of Natural Killer Cells from an Australian Population of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Patients (Full Text)
 * 2016, ERK1/2, MEK1/2 and p38 downstream signalling molecules impaired in CD56dimCD16+ and CD56brightCD16dim/− natural killer cells in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients (Full Text)
 * 2016, Natural killer cells and single nucleotide polymorphisms of specific ion channels and receptor genes in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (Full Text)
 * 2017, Dietary and nutrition interventions for the therapeutic treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a systematic review (Full Text)
 * 2017, Impaired calcium mobilization in natural killer cells from chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis patients is associated with transient receptor potential melastatin 3 ion channels (Full Text)
 * 2017, Novel characterisation of mast cell phenotypes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis patients (Full Text)
 * 2018, Decreased Expression of TRPM3 and mAChRM3 in the Small Intestine in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Full text)
 * 2018, Brain function characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome: A task fMRI study (Full Text)
 * 2018, A Systematic Review of Probiotic Interventions for Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). (Abstract)
 * 2018, A systematic review of enteric dysbiosis in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (Full text)
 * 2018, Rituximab impedes natural killer cell function in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients: A pilot in vitro investigation (Full Text)
 * 2018, Reduced glycolytic reserve in isolated natural killer cells from Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome patients: A preliminary investigation (Abstract)
 * 2018, Hyperintense sensorimotor T1 spin echo MRI is associated with brainstem abnormality in chronic fatigue syndrome (Full Text)
 * 2018, Loss of Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 ion channel function in natural killer cells from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients (Full Text)
 * 2018, Decreased Connectivity and Increased Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent Complexity in the Default Mode Network in Individuals with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Abstract)
 * 2019, Epidemiology of paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome in Australia (Full text)
 * 2019, Prevalence and characteristics of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) in Poland: a cross-sectional study - (Full text)
 * 2019, Validation of impaired Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 3 ion channel activity in natural killer cells from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients - (Full text)
 * 2019, A systematic review of cytokines in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis/systemic exertion intolerance disease (CFS/ME/SEID) - (Full text)

Open Letter to The Lancet
Three open letters to the editor of The Lancet urged the editor to commission a fully independent review of the PACE trial, which the journal had published in 2011. In 2016, Dr. Marshall-Gradisnik, along with 41 colleagues in the ME/CFS field, signed the second letter. In June 2018, Dr. Marshall-Gradisnik signed the third letter, along with approximately 100 colleagues.


 * 10 February 2016, An open letter to The Lancet, again - Virology blog
 * 19 June 2018, Trial By Error: An Open Letter to The Lancet, Two Years On - Virology blog

Clinic location
National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) is located at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Talks & interviews

 * 2012, Speaker at the 7th Invest in ME International ME Conference DVD available(no speech title given)]
 * 2012, Keynote address by Prof Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik at Emerge Australia (formerly ME/CFS Australia (Victoria)) Awareness Week
 * 2014, "Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Australia's foremost expert on chronic fatigue syndrome" interviewed on ABC Gold Coast
 * 2014, Speaker at the 9th Invest in ME International ME Conference DVD available(no speech title given)]
 * 2015, Speaker at the 10th Invest in ME International ME Conference DVD available(no speech title given)]
 * 2016, Australian scientists make breakthrough in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome testing
 * 2018, Meet the Scientists: Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, by Sasha Nimmo in ME Australia newsletter
 * 13 Mar 2019, Immunological & Calcium Signalling Define ME/CFS given at the International Research Symposium, Geelong, Australia, sponsored by Emerge Australia (presentation with Donald Staines)

Online presence

 * Griffith University - Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik
 * National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases
 * PubMed - Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik

Learn more

 * 2014, "Gold Coast’s Griffith University to lead way in the battle against chronic fatigue"
 * 2016, News Article - "Closer to a Full Understanding of chronic fatigue syndrome"