Microbe Discovery Project

The Microbe Discovery Project was set up by Vanessa Li to raise funds for Ian Lipkin and Mady Hornig at the Center for Infection and Immunity, (CII) Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, in New York City, United States. The funds were to support Lipkin and Hornig's ME/CFS Monster Study, whose goal was "to test the hypothesis that ME/CFS cases and controls have different bacterial, fungal or viral microflora in the oropharynx (mouth and throat regions), lower gastrointestinal tract (gut) and blood in a massive, well-powered study. By rigorously characterizing cases and controls and using state-of-the-art methods for identifying microbes, even currently-unknown ones, the CII will also study patients and controls for evidence of differences in immune system function and metabolic function". The study also planned to look into the metabolome, proteome, genetics, epigenetics, and immunology of patients. On March 20, 2019, the Microbe Discovery Project announced on their Facebook page that they had shut down their website and that the Microbe Discovery Project would merge with the CII.

Notable people

• Vanessa Li
• Ian Lipkin
• Mady Hornig

Funding

Over $1.5 million had been raised to support research at the Center for Infection and Immunity. The next target was to raise another $5 million in order to test and analyze previously collected samples.

Online presence

• Twitter feed
• Facebook page