Brett Lidbury

Brett A. Lidbury, B.Sc, B.Sc (Hons) (Newcastle), PhD (ANU), FFSc (RCPA), is an Associate Professor with the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (Research School of Population Health), College of Health and Medicine at the Australian National University. His areas of expertise are medical virology, innate immunity, and biostatistics. Research interests include improving the efficacy of diagnostic pathology and biomarker pattern discovery, particularly in relation to ME/CFS and infectious diseases. Earlier research activity was interested in Ross River virus (RRV) pathogenesis, which as an Australian viral suspect in long-term fatigue, lead to current endeavors for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. His work is entirely focused on human biology and pathology, without the requirement to develop an animal model.

ME/CFS research

Dr Lidbury and his colleagues are conducting Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) studies that are ongoing with research participants recruited and assessed by CFS Discovery in Melbourne (Donvale, VIC 3111), in collaboration with the Hudson Research Institute, Paranta Biosciences, Bio21 Institute (University of Melbourne), La Trobe University and Universidad del Rosario, Bogota (School of Medicine and Health Sciences). Via these collaborations we are gathering data on potential immune serum markers (see Activin B), mitochondrial function and metabolomics, as well as genetics, with the ANU group applying computational methods, for example machine learning, to interrogate these results as a systems biology investigation. A strength at the ANU is also the assessment of pathology and clinical data to increase diagnostic prediction, while developing rules to simplify decision-making for patient assessment.

The ME/CFS project for the validation of Activin markers is funded by the Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannett Williams Memorial Foundation, and projects concerning genetic analyses are funded by ME Research UK.

Awards

• Nominee for 2016 ACT Scientist of the Year
• Fellowship to the Faculty of Science, The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

Notable studies

• 2014, Comorbidity of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome in an Australian cohort - (Full text)
• 2017, Activin B is a novel biomarker for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) diagnosis: a cross sectional study - (Full text)
• 2018, Weighting of orthostatic intolerance time measurements with standing difficulty score stratifies ME/CFS symptom severity and analyte detection - (Full text)
• 2019, An Isolated Complex V Inefficiency and Dysregulated Mitochondrial Function in Immortalized Lymphocytes from ME/CFS Patients - (Abstract)
• 2020, Biomedical Insights That Inform the Diagnosis of ME/CFS - (Full Text)

Talks and interviews

• 13 Mar 2019, Rethinking Diagnostic Reference Intervals for ME/CFS via Machine Learning & the Utility of Activin B to Assess Symptom Severity given at the International Research Symposium, Geelong, Australia, sponsored by Emerge Australia

Online presence

• PubMed
• Australian National University faculty bio

See also

• Activin B
• Australia
• Diagnostic biomarker

Learn more

• 2016, Meet the scientists - Dr Brett Lidbury
• 2018, How much can people with ME stand?

See myalgic encephalomyelitis.

See chronic fatigue syndrome.

myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) - A disease often marked by neurological symptoms, but fatigue is sometimes a symptom as well. Some diagnostic criteria distinguish it from chronic fatigue syndrome, while other diagnostic criteria consider it to be a synonym for chronic fatigue syndrome. A defining characteristic of ME is post-exertional malaise (PEM), or post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion (PENE), which is a notable exacerbation of symptoms brought on by small exertions. PEM can last for days or weeks. Symptoms can include cognitive impairments, muscle pain (myalgia), trouble remaining upright (orthostatic intolerance), sleep abnormalities, and gastro-intestinal impairments, among others. An estimated 25% of those suffering from ME are housebound or bedbound. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies ME as a neurological disease.

The clear yellowish fluid that remains from blood plasma after clotting factors have been removed by clot formation. (Blood plasma is simply blood that has had its blood cells removed.)

serum The clear yellowish fluid that remains from blood plasma after clotting factors have been removed by clot formation. (Blood plasma is simply blood that has had its blood cells removed.)

mitochondria Important parts of the biological cell, with each mitochondrion encased within a mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are best known for their role in energy production, earning them the nickname "the powerhouse of the cell". Mitochondria also participate in the detection of threats and the response to these threats. One of the responses to threats orchestrated by mitochondria is apoptosis, a cell suicide program used by cells when the threat can not be eliminated.

See ME/CFS.

mitochondria Important parts of the biological cell, with each mitochondrion encased within a mitochondrial membrane. Mitochondria are best known for their role in energy production, earning them the nickname "the powerhouse of the cell". Mitochondria also participate in the detection of threats and the response to these threats. One of the responses to threats orchestrated by mitochondria is apoptosis, a cell suicide program used by cells when the threat can not be eliminated.