Invest in ME International ME Conference

The Invest in ME International ME Conference is an annual medical ME/CFS conference for researchers, clinicians and patients. It is organised by the independent UK charity, Invest in ME, and held in London, England. Speakers at the conference typically include researchers and doctors from around the world. The charity sells DVDs of the conference talks after the event has taken place. In parallel with the conference, the charity also organizes the Biomedical Research into ME Colloquium (BMREC), an event for researchers alone to attend.

1st Invest in ME International ME Conference 2006
Theme: Initiating ME Research

The Invest in ME Conference 2006 was held on 12nd May 2006.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson
 * Opening Remarks


 * Bruce Carruthers, Principal Author of the Canadian Guidelines
 * Definitions and Aetiology - The importance of diagnostic criteria


 * Malcolm Hooper , from University of Sunderland, UK
 * Summary of “Key Findings” of past bio‑medical research


 * Jane Colby, The Young ME Sufferers Trust
 * Children and Education: Incidence, clusters and specific problems of youngsters with M.E.


 * Byron Hyde, from Nightingale Research Foundation, Toronto, Canada
 * The epidemiology, definitions and techniques of investigation of the ME and CFS patient and the resulting pathological findings


 * Jonathan Kerr, from St. George's University of London, UK
 * Viral and Human Gene Expression, development of diagnostic test, news of clinical trials


 * Basant Puri, Imperial College of Medicine, London, UK
 * Lipid Neuroscience - an overall picture of (and links to) other treatments/research

2nd Invest in ME International ME Conference 2007
Theme: Building a Future for Research into ME

The Invest in ME Conference 2007 was held on 1st and 2nd May 2008.

Speakers - Day 1

 * Norman Lamb, MP
 * Key Note Speech


 * Derek Pheby, from University of Hull, England, UK
 *  Case Study - Epidemiology of ME/CFS


 * Jonathan Kerr, from St. George's University of London, UK
 * Case Study - Biomedical research (A view of a biomedical research team, how it is funded, what it needs, how it could be improved, what the future research would look like)


 * Kenny de Meirleir, from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium
 * Treatments for ME/CFS Integrative & Complimentary Medicine


 * Annette Whittemore, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * A Model ME/CFS Clinic - The CFS Clinic – Reno, Nevada, US


 * Daniel Peterson, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Biomedical Research


 * Vance Spence, University of Dundee Medical Shool, UK
 * Biomedical Research into ME/CFS: where does it go from here


 * Malcolm Hooper , from University of Sunderland, UK
 * Summary of “Key Findings” of past bio‑medical research


 * Ellen Piro, President Norges ME Forening, Norway
 * NICE Guidelines – Experiences from Norway


 * Byron Hyde, from Nightingale Research Foundation, Toronto, Canada
 * ME and Insurance companies

Speakers - Day 2

 * Ian Gibson, Chair
 * Opening Remarks


 * Martin Pall, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, US
 * Biochemical Underpinnings of ME/CFS


 * Abhijit Chaudhuri, Essex Centre of Neurological Science, UK
 * Pathology of ME/CFS


 * Vance Spence, University of Dundee Medical Shool, UK
 * Biomedical Research into ME/CFS: where does it go from here


 * Sarah Myhill, GP, UK
 * Treatments and Diagnosis – A GP’s Perspective


 * Kenny de Meirleir, from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium
 * Treatments for ME/CFS Integrative & Complimentary Medicine


 * Byron Hyde, from Nightingale Research Foundation, Toronto, Canada
 * ME and Insurance companies


 * Jonathan Kerr, from St. George's University of London, UK
 * Case Study - Biomedical research (A view of a biomedical research team, how it is funded, what it needs, how it could be improved, what the future research would look like)


 * Daniel Peterson, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Biomedical Research


 * Malcolm Hooper , from University of Sunderland, UK
 * Summary - Future Strategy for ME Research, Diagnosis and Treatment

3rd Invest in ME International ME Conference 2008
Theme: Sub Grouping and Treatments for ME/CFS

The Invest in ME Conference 2008 was held on 23 May 2008.

Speakers

 * Malcolm Hooper
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Leonard Jason, from DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, US
 * Case Definitions of ME/CFS – including paediatric case definition


 * Jonathan Kerr, from St. George's University of London, UK
 * Gene Expression in ME/CFS: a means of Subtyping


 * A Martin Lerner, Infectious Disease Specialist, Michigan, US
 * Diagnosis and Treatment of ME/CFS - Longitudinal Observations of Cardiac and Antiviral studies


 * Julia Newton, Newcastle University, UK
 * Autonomic Dysfunction: Identification of aetiologically distinct subject groups within ME/CFS


 * John Chia, Infectious Disease Specialist, Torrance, California, US
 * Research on the Role of Chronic Enterovirus Infection in CFS/ME


 * Irving Spurr, GP, UK
 * A GP’s Experiences of Diagnosis and Treatments of ME/CFS


 * Jean Monro, Medical Director of the Breakspear Hospital, UK
 * Case Studies of Diagnosis and Treatments for ME/CFS


 * Judy Mikovits, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * How Sub Grouping will affect research strategies

4th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2009
Theme: Building a Future for Research into ME

The Invest in ME Conference 2009 was held on 29 May 2009.

Speakers

 * Jonathan Brostoff
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Annette Whittemore, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Keynote Speech


 *  Garth Nicolson, from Institute of Molecular Medicine, Laguna Beach, California, US
 * Similar Infections Found in ME/CFS and Neurodegenerative and Neurobehavioral Diseases


 * Harald Nyland, from Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
 * Epidemics & ME: Lessons from the Giardia epidemic in Norway


 * Jonathan Kerr, from St. George's University of London, UK
 * Severely-affected Sub Groups of ME/CFS


 * Barbara Baumgarten, from Ullev&aring;l University Hospital, Oslo, Noway
 * Services for correct diagnosis and Management/Treatment of ME


 * Kenny de Meirleir, from The Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium
 * Research on Extremely Debilitated M.E. Patients Reveals the True Nature of the Disorder


 * Daniel Peterson, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Treatment Regimes for the Most Severe Cases


 * Basant Puri, from Imperial College School of Medicine, UK
 * Neuro-Imaging of ME Patients


 * John Chia, in private practice, Torrance, California, US
 * Diagnosis and Treatment of chronic enterovirus infection associated with ME/CFS


 * Judy Mikovits, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * How Sub Grouping will affect research strategies

5th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2010
Theme: A New Era in ME/CFS Research

The Invest in ME Conference 2010 was held on 24 May 2010.

Speakers

 * Malcolm Hooper
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Leonard Jason, from DePaul University, Chicago, IL, US
 * Key Note Speech:How Case Definitions Can Stigmatize: Implications for Epidemiology, Etiology, and Pathophysiology


 * Nora Chapman, University of Nebraska, Nebraska, US
 * Persistent Enteroviral Infections


 * John Chia, in private practice, Torrance, California, US
 * Enteroviruses in ME/CFS, Diagnosis and Treatment


 * Paul Cheney, from the Cheney Clinic, Ashville, North Carolina, US
 * Diastolic Dysfunction in ME/CFS: A Cardiac Manifestation of Cellular Energy Defects in ME/CFS


 * Jonathan Kerr, from St. George's University of London, UK
 * Study of SNPs to determine subtype status in CFS patients


 * Nancy Klimas, from University of Miami, School of Medicine, US
 * Immunological Biomarkers in ME/CFS


 * Brigitte Huber , Tufts University, Boston, MA, US
 * Presence of Retrovirus as a Biomarker for ME/CFS


 * Annette Whittemore, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Future Pathways of Research into ME


 * Judy Mikovits, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Implications of XMRV Research for ME/CFS

6th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2011
Theme: Building a Future for Research into ME

The Invest in ME Conference 2011 was held on 20 May 2011.

Speakers

 * Malcolm Hooper
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Annette Whittemore, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, NV, US
 * Keynote Speech: Translating ME/CFS Research into Treatments


 * David Bell, Private practice, Lyndonville, NY, US
 * 25 Year Follow-up of ME Patients


 * Andreas Kogelnik, from the Open Medicine Institute, US
 * Keynote Speech: Strategies for ME Research and Collaboration


 * John Chia, Infectious Disease Specialist, Torrance, California, US
 * Enteroviruses in ME/CFS, Diagnosis and Treatment


 * Geoffrey Burnstock, from University College London, UK
 * Purinergic signalling and CNS disorders


 * James Baraniuk, from Georgetown University Medical Center, US
 * Cerebrospinal Biomarkers for ME/CFS


 * Simon Carding, from University of East Anglia, UK and Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, UK
 * UK Research: Genome Sequencing, Virology & Immunology for ME/CFS


 * Olav Mella, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * B-cell Depletion Therapy Using Rituximab in ME/CFS - Part I


 * Øystein Fluge, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * B-cell Depletion Therapy Using Rituximab in ME/CFS - Part II


 * Kenny de Meirleir, from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium
 * Clinical Diagnosis, Treatments and Trials of ME/CFS


 * Judy Mikovits, from Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuroimmune Diseases, Reno, Nevada, US
 * Implications of XMRV Research for ME/CFS


 * Wilfried Bieger, from private practice in Munich, Germany
 * XMRV Results from Germany

7th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2012
Theme: Autoimmunity and ME

The Invest in ME Conference 2012 was held on 1 June 2012.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Donald Staines, from Gold Coast Public Health Unit, Australia
 * Key Note Speech: New directions for ME/CFS Research


 * Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
 * Hugh Perry, from University of Southampton, UK
 * An Overview of Neuro-inflammation in Chronic Disease


 * Maria Fitzgerald, from University College London, UK
 * An Overview of Chronic Pain Mechanisms


 * Mario Delgado, from The Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine, Granada, Spain
 * Neuropeptides and their role in chronic disease


 * James Baraniuk, from Georgetown University Medical Center, US
 * Olav Mella, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * B-cell Depletion Therapy Using Rituximab in ME/CFS - Part I


 * Øystein Fluge, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * B-cell Depletion Therapy Using Rituximab in ME/CFS - Part II


 * Daniel Peterson, private practice, Incline Village, NV, US
 * Clinical Research Update 2012


 * Indre Bileviciute Ljungar, from Danderyd Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
 * One Year Experience of a Standardised Team-based Assessment of Suspected ME/CFS Patients


 * Andreas Kogelnik, from the Open Medicine Institute, US
 * Strategies for ME Research and Collaboration


 * Jørgen Jelstad, Journalist, Oslo, Norway

8th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2013
Theme: Mainstreaming ME Research

The Invest in ME Conference 2013 was held on 31 May 2013. The BMREC (for researchers) was held on the 30 May 2013.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Daniel Peterson, private practice, Incline Village, NV, US
 * Key Note Speech: The Mainstreaming of ME Research


 * Andreas Kogelnik, from the Open Medicine Institute, US
 * Key Note Speech: Strategies for ME Research and Collaboration


 * Rakib Rayhan, from Georgetown University Medical Center, US
 * The Role of the Brain and ME


 * Greg Towers, from University College London, UK
 * Retroviruses and ME


 * Mady Hornig, Columbia University, New York, US
 * Clare Gerada, from Royal College of GPs
 * Govt NHS Reforms: Implications for long term chronic conditions such as ME – for GPs and Patients


 * Carmen Scheibenbogen, from Institute of Medical Immunology, Berlin Charité, Germany
 * Immunological Basis of ME


 * Simon Carding, from Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, UK
 * Donald Staines, from Gold Coast Public Health Unit, Australia
 * Olav Mella, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * B-cell Depletion Therapy Using Rituximab in ME/CFS - Part I


 * Øystein Fluge, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * B-cell Depletion Therapy Using Rituximab in ME/CFS - Part II


 * Amolak Bansal, from Epsom and St Helier Hospital, Surrey, UK
 * Clinical immunology and research on B cell abnormalities in ME


 * Linda Tannenbaum, from the Open Medicine Institute, US
 * IIMEC8 Pre-conference dinner speech

9th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2014
Theme: Synergising Research into ME

The Invest in ME 2014 conference was held on 30 May 2014. The BMREC (for researchers) was held on the 27 & 28 May 2014. (BRMEC Research Colloqium report)

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson, previously British Member of Parliament
 * Opening Remarks by Chair


 * Jonathan Edwards, from University College London, UK
 *  Keynote Speech


 * Angela Vincent, from University of Oxford, UK
 * Jonas Blomberg, from Uppsala University, Sweden
 * Mady Hornig, from Columbia University, New York, US
 * Carmen Scheibenbogen, from Institute of Medical Immunology, Berlin Charité, Germany
 * Simon Carding, from University of East Anglia, UK
 * Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik from Griffith University, Australia
 * James Baraniuk, from Georgetown University Medical Center, US
 * Julia Newton, from Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, UK
 * Maureen Hanson, from Cornell University, New York, US
 * Andreas Kogelnik, from the Open Medicine Institute, US
 * Amolak Bansal, from Epsom and St Helier Hospital, Surrey, UK
 * Juli&agrave; Blanco, from IrsiCaixa Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
 * Nigel Speight, from Durham University Hospital, UK

10th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2015
Theme: Agents for Change

The Invest in ME 2015 conference was held on 29 May 2015. The BMREC (for researchers) was held on the 27 and 28 May 2015.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson
 * Opening Remarks from Chair


 * Ian Charles, Director National Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK
 * Keynote Speech - Solving ME: What a Research Park Has to Offer in Resolving a Chronic Disease


 * Mady Hornig, from Columbia University, New York, US
 * Markers of Immunity and Metabolism in ME/CFS


 * Jonas Bergquist, from Uppsala University, Sweden
 * Proteomics in ME/CFS


 * Amolak Bansal, from Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Surrey, UK
 * Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis: Combining clinic and research


 * Luis Nacul, from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
 * Incidence and Prevalence of ME


 * Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
 * Simon Carding, from Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, UK
 * The Next Generation, PhD and Students Funded by Invest in ME
 * Jo Cambridge, from University College London, London, England, UK
 * B-cell biology and ME/CFS


 * Neil Harrison, from Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK
 * Immune-Brain Communication and Relationship to Inflammation


 * John Chia, in private practice, Torrance, California, US
 * ME and Chronic Enterovirus Infection: An Update on pathogenesis


 * Betsy Keller, from Ithaca College, NY, US
 * Molecular markers before/after exercise /Activity guidelines to avoid symptom flares


 * Olav Mella, from Haukeland University Hospital,Bergen, Norway
 * Multi-centre Rituximab Clinical Trial for ME/CFS

Articles

 * 2015 The News From the London Invest in ME Conference, by Cort Johnson
 * 2015 Invest in ME Conference Report, by Dr. Rosamund Vallings
 * 2015, CONFERENCE REPORT: Invest in ME 10th Annual Conference, 2015, by Dr. Rosamund Vallings

11th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2016
Theme: A New Decade of Invest in ME - Research

The Invest in ME Conference 2016 was held on 3 Jun 2016. The BMREC (for researchers) was held on the 1 & 2 June 2016.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson, Chair
 * Opening Remarks - 10 years – Looking Back, Looking Forward


 * Vicky Whittemore, from National Institutes of Health, US
 * Keynote Speaker - A New Research Initiative into ME at NIH


 * Olli Polo, in private practice, Tampere, Finland
 * Clinical Diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis


 * Carmen Scheibenbogen, from Institute for Medical Immunology, Berlin, Germany
 * Autoantibodies to adrenergic and acetylcholine receptors in CFS/ME


 * Jo Cambridge, from University College London, London, England
 * Immunoregulation in patients with ME


 * Tom Wileman, from University of East Anglia, Norfolk, England
 * Gut Virome in ME


 * Donald Staines, from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
 * Update from NCNED: Receptor identification and intracellular signalling


 * Simon Carding, from Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, UK
 * The European ME Research Group (EMERG)


 * Mady Hornig, Columbia University, NY, US
 * Pathogen Discovery in ME


 * Maureen Hanson, Cornell University, NY, US
 * The Search for Biomarkers for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis


 * Elisa Oltra, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
 * Molecular Biomarkers of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis


 * James Baraniuk, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, US
 * Exercise testing and Orthostatic Tachycardia


 * Ronald Davis, Stanford University, California, US
 * Big Data Approach: Severely Ill ME Patient Cohort


 * Kjersti Krisner
 * Pre-Conference Dinner Speaker

Articles

 * 2016, Invest in ME Conference 2016 by MEAction
 * 2016, A New Decade of ME Research: The 11th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2016 from Phoenix Rising
 * 2016, New Atmosphere, New Vision: Gibson and Whittemore Kick Off Invest in ME Conference 2016 from Phoenix Rising
 * 2016, Invest in ME C11 2016 Conference Report, by Dr. Rosamund Vallings
 * 2016, Bad Bacteria, Brainstem Abnormalities and Progress with Rituximab: the Invest in ME Conference #1 by Cort Johnson

12th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2017
The Invest in ME Conference 2017 will be held on 2 Jun 2017. The BMREC (for researchers) will be held on the 31st May and 1st June 2017.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson, Chair
 * Opening Remarks - Welcome to #IIMEC12


 * Ian Charles, Director National Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK
 * Opening Keynote Speech - A Centre of Excellence for ME


 * Vicky Whittemore, National Institutes of Health, US
 * Keynote Speaker - NIH Research into ME


 * Donald Staines, Gold Coast Population Health Unit, Australia
 * Dysregulation of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) ion channels and calcium in natural killer cells in CFS/ME patients


 * Nancy Klimas, Nova Southeastern University, Miami, US
 * Genetic Signature Study


 * Jakob Theorell, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
 * Studies of NK cells and cytotoxic T-cells in ME-patients from one Swedish and one Norwegian cohort


 * Jo Cambridge and Fane Mensah, University College London,UK ::Immunoregulation in patients with ME
 * Simon Carding, Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, UK
 * Panel Discussion led by Professor Simon Carding with PhD students from Quadram Institute Biosciences


 * Mady Hornig, Columbia University, NY, US
 * Gut-metabolome-immune disturbances in ME/CFS subsets


 * Olav Mella, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
 * Update on the clinical trials RituxME and CycloME


 * Warren Tate, University of Otago, New Zealand
 * Intense molecular study of well characterised patients to understand the acute phase, perpetuation, and relapse/recovery cycles in ME/CFS


 * Ronald Davis, Stanford University, California, US
 * Big Data Approach: Severely ill ME Patient Cohort


 * David Tuller 
 * Pre-Conference Dinner Speaker - #TearItUp on his analysis of the Pace trial

Articles

 * CONFERENCE REPORT: Invest in ME 12th Annual Conference, 2017, by Dr. Rosamund Vallings
 * The 12th Invest in ME Conference, Part 1 from Phoenix Rising (posted June 19, 2017)
 * The 12th Invest in ME Conference, Part 2 from Phoenix Rising (posted July 3, 2017)
 * Invest in ME Conference 12: First Class in Every Way from Phoenix Rising (posted July 24, 2017)

13th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2018
The Invest in ME Conference 2018 was held on 3 Jun 2018.

Speakers

 * Ian Gibson, Chair
 * Opening Remarks - Welcome to #IIMEC13


 * Elizabeth Unger, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US 
 * Research Update from CDC


 * Vicky Whittemore, National Institutes of Health, US
 * NIH Common Data Elements


 * Avindra Nath, National Institutes of Health, US
 * Challenges in study design and identification of patients with post-infectious ME


 * Simon Carding, University of East Anglia, UK and Institute of Food Research, Norwich Research Park, UK
 * Gut Microbiota in ME - Student Panel


 * Peter Johnsen, University Hospital of North Norway, Harstad, Norway
 * Double blinded, single center, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial treating ME with FMT


 * Karl Johan Tronstad, The Tronstad Lab, Bergen, Norway
 * Cellular Energetics


 * Donald Staines, National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED), Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
 * Emerging TRP pathology: the way forward in pharmacotherapeutics and treatment


 * Theoharis Theoharides,
 * Anne Örtegren Memorial Lecture - Mast Cells and ME


 * Mady Hornig, Columbia University, New York, US
 * Parsing heterogeneity in ME/CFS to accelerate discovery of tractable disease phenotypes


 * Maureen Hanson, Cornell University, New York, US
 * Immune Dysregulation in ME/CFS


 * Markku Partinen, University of Helsinki, Finland
 * ME/CFS from a sleep medicine perspective


 * James Baraniuk, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, US
 * Cerebrospinal biomakers for ME/CFS


 * Ron Davis, Stanford Genome Technology Center, Palto Alto, California, US
 * Establishing new mechanistic and diagnostic paradigms for ME/CFS


 * Ian Gibson, Chair
 * Plenary Session

Articles

 * Summary of the 2018 conference by Dr. Charles Shepherd

Conference Websites

 * Invest in ME Conference 2006
 * Invest in ME Conference 2007
 * Invest in ME Conference 2008
 * Invest in ME Conference 2009
 * Invest in ME Conference 2010
 * Invest in ME Conference 2011
 * Invest in ME Conference 2012
 * Invest in ME Conference 2013
 * Invest in ME Conference 2014
 * Invest in ME Conference 2015
 * Invest in ME Conference 2016