Professor Simon Carding

UK

Upon completing postgraduate work at the Medical Research Council’s Clinical Research Centre in Harrow, Professor Carding “emigrated” to the USA to take up a postdoctoral position at New York University School of Medicine, and then at Yale University as a Howard Hughes Fellow in the Immunobiology Group at Yale University. While at Yale an interest in gamma-delta (γδ) T cells was acquired working closely with Adrian Hayday on molecular genetics and then with Prof. Peter Doherty to establish their role in (viral) infectious disease.
He left Yale after five years to take up a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where he developed a research interest in mucosal and GI-tract immunology, performing studies in germfree mice with Prof John Cebra that helped establish the role of gut microbes in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
After 15 years in the USA, he returned to the UK to take up the Chair in Molecular Immunology at the University of Leeds where he established a new research programme on commensal gut bacteria and Bacteroides genetics leading to the development of a Bacteroides drug delivery platform that is being used for developing new interventions for IBD and for mucosal vaccination.
In 2008 he was recruited by UEA and IFR to develop a gut research programme, taking up the Chair of Mucosal Immunology at UEA-MED and the position of head of the Gut Biology Research Programme at IFR, which later became part of the Gut Health and Food Safety (GHFS) Programme.
GHFS research covers a broad area of gut biology including epithelial cell physiology, mucus and glycobiology, mucosal immunology, commensal microbiology, foodborne bacterial pathogens, and mathematical modelling and bioinformatics. The success of this programme has led to the establishment of the Gut Microbes and Health research programme that is integral to the research agenda of The Quadram Institute.

Dr Jesper Mehlsen

Denmark

Dr Jesper Mehlsen graduated as a medical doctor in 1979 and finished his specialist training in 1990. He has published more than 140 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals, mainly on the autonomic nervous system and more recently on complex diseases possibly resulting form HPV-vaccination.
For more than 35 years, he has worked clinically and in research with dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. Such dysfunction may lead to symptoms from a number of different organs often dominated by diminished control of blood pressure and heart rate.
Over the past 5 years, he has worked clinically and in research with patients who suspect side effects due to HPV vaccination to be the cause of a number of symptoms, common to those seen in chronic ME.
Dr Mehlsen is co-chair of the European ME Research Group (EMERG).

Tamas Korcsmaros

UK

Dr Tamas Korcsmaros is a systems biologist working with both computational and experimental approaches to study signalling networks in the gut.
For 15 years, he has been been working in the field of intra- and inter-cellular signalling networks and the regulation of autophagy, a key cellular process for maintaining health and fight diseases. He is particularly interested in how cell-cell and cell-microbe interactions affect intestinal homeostasis, and how one could use precision medicine to tackle current challenges to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
In his group they have developed gap-filling computational resources and applied experimental novel systems, such as organoids, to achieve these goals.
Besides leading his research group that focuses on improving our understanding on the pathomechanisms of IBD, he is also co-leading the NIHR Imperial BRC Organoid Facility to establish patient-specific multi-omics studies for various complex diseases.

REFERENCES

References

• Korcsmaros lab
• Researchgate Tamas Korcsmaros

David Price

UK

Professor David A Price MRCP DPhil DTM&H FAoP FLSW FRSB graduated with double first class honours in medical sciences and pathology at the University of Cambridge and completed his clinical training at King's College Hospital London.
He practised internal medicine, specialising in infectious and tropical diseases, before pursuing a doctorate in molecular immunology at the University of Oxford.
After further academic clinical appointments, his research was conducted with fellowship support at the NIH Vaccine Research Center.
He was appointed as Chair of Infection and Immunity at Cardiff University School of Medicine in October 2007.
His research program focuses on the development and implementation of advanced biotechnologies to characterise immune responses against globally relevant pathogens, such as HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2.

REFERENCES

• Cardiff University Profiles
• Cardiff University awarded major funding to research long Covid
• NIHR Researching long COVID: addressing a new global health challenge

Associate Professor Jos Bosch

Netherlands

In 2012 he was appointed associate professor in the Department of Psychology, section Clinical Psychology.
His research investigates the psychobiology of medical disorders, with the aim to understand and mitigate the impact of disease.
His dual expertise in psychology and biology allows him to approach this topic in a genuinely interdisciplinary manner, by integrating methods and concepts from both fields, and apply these to experimental laboratory studies, clinical investigations, and epidemiological analyses. More recently hsi work has expanded to include Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a source of novel approaches to the analysis and modification of human biology and behaviour. The latter program of research is funded by two H2020 consortium grants, of which he isa lead and a coordinator, and involves intensive collaborations with groups accross continental Europe, the UK, and the US.

Since 2019 he became Associate Editor of Health Psychology Review, having previously acted as associate/senior editor for Brain, Behavior & Immunity (2011-2014), Psychological Bulletin (2010-2013), and Health Psychology (2010-2015).

In 2018 he was appointed Program Leader of the AMC/VUmc research institute ‘Amsterdam Public Health' (APH), Divsion of Mental Health (https://www.amsterdamumc.org/research/institutes/amsterdam-public-health.htm). In 2020 I was reappointed for 2 more years.

In 2023 Jos was awarded a grant of more than seven million euros to commence new biomedical research into ME/CFS.

Further reading:

Associate Professor Rikke Katrine Jentoft Olsen

Denmark

Rikke's research group has a longstanding interest in inborn errors of mitochondrial metabolism with special focus on fatty acid oxidation disorders. We integrate genetic diagnostics of affected families with research into cell pathological mechanisms and novel treatment modalities in the form of mitochondrial vitamins/co-factors and anaplerotic compounds for the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In recent years, we have initiated research programs to understand the role that mitochondria may play in ME.

Besides science, Rikke KJ Olsen is an active member of the Neonatal Screening Program for inborn errors of metabolism in Denmark and board member of international scientific organisations within fatty acid oxidation disorders and ME/CFS.

• ORCID: Associate Professor Rikke Olsen

Professor Jonas Bergquist

Sweden

Professor Begquist has a background as MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Neuroscience , Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the University of Gothenburg. Since 1999 , he has been a researcher in Uppsala, Sweden, and in 2005 was appointed professor of analytical chemistry and neurochemistry at the Department of Chemistry - BMC , Uppsala University. From 2011 he worked also as an adjunct professor of pathology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Associate Professor Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber, MD, PhD

Austria

Dr. Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber Associate Professor of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at The University of Vienna. Her research interests are Immunology and Microbiology, Comparative Immunology and Oncology, Pathophysiology.
In 2011, Dr.in Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber completed her specialist training. Since then, Dr.in Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has worked as a specialist and associate professor at the ” Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at the Medical University of Vienna. In 2012, Dr.in Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber completed her part-time doctoral studies in natural sciences at the University of Salzburg and received her doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.). She is the author of more than 40 internationally acclaimed articles published in renowned journals, which have so far been cited more than 1000 times by other authors in publications. For her work in the field of food allergy, Dr.in Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has received numerous prizes such as the Pirquet Prize, the most important prize in the field of allergy research of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology, the Theodor Billroth Prize of the Medical Association of Vienna and the Vienna Chamber of Commerce Prize 2014.
In addition, Dr Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has led and managed numerous competitively funded research projects on food allergy, gastrointestinal immunology and oncology since 2005. She is a member of national and international committees such as the Austrian and European Societies for Allergolgy and Immunology and the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum. Dr. Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has participated in numerous science communication activities for years, such as the production of information brochures, the Children’s University, the Long Night of Research and Science at the VHS Vienna.
(with grateful thanks to https://www.praxis-neustift.com/en/prof-ddr-eva-untersmayr-elsenhuber/)

Links:

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Elisa Oltra

Spain

Dr. Elisa Oltra is a professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Universidad Católica de Valencia “San Vicente Mártir” where she also works as a researcher in the area of stem-cell and cancer.
She obtained an M.S. degree in Biochemistry at the Universitat de Valencia (Spain) and later earned her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Miami, FL (USA) where she stayed for her post-doctoral training and later, as Senior Scientist till 2006 when she moved back to Spain. During her studies at the University of Miami she identified alternative 5´UTR sequences involved in regulating cell-cell communication through mechanisms of differential connexin43 expression in the heart.
She also isolated a novel essential protein (Ini) and demonstrated its participation in mechanisms of transcription and splicing.
In 2009 she started a project to investigate the molecular basis of Fibromyalgia having identified at present irregularities in RNAseL expression and miRNAs profile changes in the participating patients which could lead to a deeper understanding of the disease.
In 2012 she joined the IVP Valencian Institute of Pathology, also at the Universidad Católica de Valencia where she is currently studying a specific type of vesicles: the exosomes, as mediators of stem-cell based therapies.
She is also academic director of the first officially accredited Master degree in Biobanking in Europe in collaboration with the Spanish Network of Biobanking at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid (Spain).

Chris Ponting

UK

Christopher Ponting is a British computational biologist, specialising in the evolution and function of genes and genomes. He is currently Chair of Medical Bioinformatics at the University of Edinburgh and group leader in the MRC Human Genetics Unit.
He is also an Associate Faculty member of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
His research focuses on long noncoding RNA function and evolution, on single cell biology and on disease genomics.
Professor Ponting contributed to the Human Genome Project, and participated in sequence comparison for the mouse, chicken, dog, opossum, and platypus Genome Projects. He has also used comparative genomics to contribute directly to the understanding of chromatin structure and the genetics of numerous conditions including asthma,obesity, Alzheimer's disease, retinitis pigmentosa, muscular dystrophies, and Aicardi–Goutières syndrome. Additionally, his lab is part of DecodeME, a genetic study to determine the potential causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Professor Nancy Klimas

USA

Director, Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University.
Director, Clinical Immunology Research, Miami VAMC
Professor of Medicine, Department of Clinical Immunology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
Chair, Department of Clinical Immunology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
Professor Emerita, University of Miami, School of Medicine
n for her research and clinical efforts in multi-symptom disorders, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), War Illness (GWI), Fibromyalgia, and other Neuro Immune Disorders. She is immediate past president of the International Association for CFS and ME (IACFS/ME), a professional organization of clinicians and investigators, and is also a member of the VA Research Advisory Committee for GWI, the NIH P2P CFS Committee, and the Institute of Medicine ME/CFS Review Panel. Dr. Klimas has advised three Secretaries of Health and Human Services, including Kathleen Sabelius, during her repeated service on the Health and Human Services CFS Advisory Committee. Dr. Klimas has been featured on Good Morning America, in USA Today and the New York Times.

Professor Maureen Hanson

USA

Maureen Hanson is Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Previously she was on the faculty of the Department of Biology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, where she also completed her Ph.D. degree. While most of her prior research has concerned cell and molecular biology in plant cells, she began a research program on ME/CFS after noting at a 2007 IACFS meeting the paucity of molecular biologists studying the illness. Her lab was part of the 2012 multicenter study organised by Ian Lipkin's group at Columbia University to assess the actual role of XMRV in ME/CFS. Dr. Hanson has a current project to examine the microbiome of ME/CFS patients and controls, in collaboration with Dr. Ruth Ley (Cornell Microbiology) and Susan Levine, M.D. (Manhattan, NY). Dr Levine is also collaborating with Dr. Hanson on an immune cell gene expression project that involves Dr. Fabien Campagne and Dr. Rita Shaknovich at Weill Cornell Medical School in New York City. Dr. Hanson's third project concerns analysis of blood samples from individuals performing a two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test at Ithaca College under the supervision of Dr. Betsy Keller.

Australia

Chris Armstrong, PhD, performs research using metabolomics to observe biochemical alterations in ME patients. He began his work in this field at the University of Melbourne, beginning a PhD project to apply metabolomics to study myalgic encephalomyelitis and published his first ME/CFS metabolomics study on blood and urine in 2015. Chris also worked with IiMER-funded PhD Fane Mensah at UCL.

Since then Chris has set up collaborative efforts to apply metabolomics to immunological experiments on ME, observing how metabolism may relate to immune cell function. He has also focused on longitudinal research in ME while looking to extend metabolic capabilities across the field of ME to help collate different patient groups.

Chris has presented at the #BRMEC11 colloquium in 2021.

Other Links

• Chris Armstrong ResearchGate
• Chris Armstrong Research Profile
• PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED BY CHRISTOPHER W ARMSTRONG
• PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED BY CHRISTOPHER W ARMSTRONG

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Dr Vicky Whittemore

USA

Dr. Whittemore is a Program Director in the Synapses, Channels and Neural Circuits Cluster. Her interest is in understanding the underlying mechanisms of the epilepsies including the study of genetic and animal models of the epilepsies.

The major goal is to identify effective treatments for the epilepsies and to develop preventions. Dr. Whittemore received a Ph.D. in anatomy from the University of Minnesota, followed by post-doctoral work at the University of California, Irvine, and a Fogarty Fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

She was on the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine in The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis prior to working with several non-profit organizations including the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, Genetic Alliance, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), and the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG).

She also completed a four-year term on the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council.

Other Links

• ResearchGate

Linda van Campen

Netherlands

C. (Linda) M.C. van Campen is a cardiologist involved in clinical research and clinical care of adolescents and adults with ME since 2009. She has been practicing cardiology since 1999 and has focused on clinical care and research for patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis since 2009.

Dr. van Campen has contributed significantly to the understanding of ME, particularly in relation to orthostatic intolerance, cerebral blood flow, and cardiac function. Linda van Campen has made several notable contributions to the field of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis research, particularly in understanding the physiological abnormalities associated with the condition. Van Campen's research has consistently demonstrated that ME patients experience a significant reduction in cerebral blood flow during orthostatic stress, such as tilt table testing, even in the absence of hypotension or tachycardia. This highlights a key physiological dysfunction in ME patients. She has extensively studied orthostatic intolerance (OI), a hallmark symptom of ME/CFS, and its relationship to cardiac function. Her work has identified abnormalities such as reduced stroke volume index (SVI) and cardiac index (CI) during tilt testing in ME/CFS patients. Van Campen also explored the phenomenon of orthostatic chronotropic incompetence—an impaired heart rate response to standing—in ME/CFS patients, further elucidating the cardiovascular challenges faced by this population. In collaboration with others, van Campen has documented cognitive declines following orthostatic stress in ME patients, linking reduced cerebral blood flow to impairments in cognitive function. This research underscores the systemic impact of OI on brain health. Her work has drawn parallels between ME and long COVID, particularly in shared symptoms like orthostatic intolerance and reduced cerebral blood flow. This research has helped bridge understanding between these two conditions. She has authored numerous studies exploring these topics, including:

• The effects of tilt table testing on ME/CFS patients
• The role of compression stockings in improving cardiac output and cerebral blood flow
• The impact of long-haul COVID-19 on orthostatic intolerance compared to ME

Dr. van Campen's research includes:

• Studies on the abnormal cardiac and cerebral blood flow responses in ME patients
• Investigations into therapeutic interventions such as compression stockings and vitamin B12 treatments for ME
• Clinic

Stichting CardioZorg specialises in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular complications in ME patients, as well as conducting related clinical research.

• ResearchGate Linda van Campen

Artur Fedorowski

Sweden

Dr Artur Fedorowski is a leading cardiologist and researcher specialising in cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, syncope and orthostatic intolerance.

He is a Professor of Cardiology at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and a Senior Consultant as well as Head of the Syncope and Dysautonomia Unit at Karolinska University Hospital. He holds an MD and PhD from Wrocław Medical University in Poland, where he also completed specialist training in internal medicine and cardiology. Additionally, he pursued postdoctoral research in cardiovascular medicine at Lund University, Sweden, where he has served as an Associate Professor since 2013.

Dr Fedorowski's research focuses on cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, syncope mechanisms (including reflex syncope and orthostatic hypotension), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and autoimmune cardiovascular diseases. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to multiple books in these fields. His work has been recognised internationally, including his membership in expert groups such as the European Society of Cardiology's Task Force for Syncope Guidelines and the NIH Expert Group on POTS. Dr Fedorowski is also an associate editor for several prestigious journals and a reviewer for approximately 60 medical publications.

Citations:

• [1] https://ki.se/en/people/artur-fedorowski
• [2] https://www.standinguptopots.org/welcome/our-medical-board
• [3] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCEP.121.010573
• [4] https://insidescientific.com/profile/artur-fedorowski/
• [5] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/artur-fedorowski-53871577_long-covid-science-research-and-policy-activity-7227952475209625600-TRnf
• [6] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2020.00021/full
• [7] https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/artur-fedorowski
• [8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23216860/

Peter Novak

USA

Dr Peter Novak is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. He serves as the Chief of the Division of Autonomic Neurology and Director of the Autonomic Laboratory. Dr Novak is a board-certified neurologist and autonomic specialist with expertise in autoimmune and small fiber neuropathies, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and multiple system atrophy.

After graduating from medical school in Bratislava, Slovakia, Dr Novak completed his neurology residency at Ohio State University and pursued postdoctoral studies in cardiovascular and autonomic research at several institutions, including Charles University, University of Montreal, McGill University, and Mayo Clinic.

Dr Novak has made significant contributions to the field of autonomic neurology, including the identification of two new syndromes related to orthostatic intolerance. His research has led to improved diagnostic capabilities for patients previously thought to have psychiatric illnesses or who lacked a clear diagnosis. He has authored over 70 scientific papers.

In 2021, Dr Novak received the BRIght Futures Prize for his innovative project "Using Smartphone Pictures to Diagnose Nerve Damage," which aims to improve the accessibility of testing for small fiber neuropathy.

Further Information:

• [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petr_Nov%C3%A1k_(musician)
• [2] https://www.brighamandwomensfaulkner.org/about-bwfh/news/Novak-Receives-2021-BRIght-Futures-Prize
• [3] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=voVnlAgAAAAJ&hl=en
• [4] https://invisible.international/peter-novak-bio/
• [5] https://www.brighamandwomens.org/neurology/autonomic-neurology/about-autonomic-neurology
• [6] https://www.brighamandwomensfaulkner.org/about-bwfh/news/expanded-autonomic-testing-helps-to-pinpoint-cases-of-orthostatic-intolerance
• [7] https://inspire.edu.pl/en/who-we-are/people/peter-novak/
• [8] https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/147574

Mette Oluson

USA

Professor in the Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Primary research interests include bio-mathematics, mathematical modeling, and combining models with actual data.
Professor Olufsen's interest is in studying dynamics of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and inflammatory systems using fluid dynamics and system level models.
She has a PhD degree in applied and industrial mathematics and a MS degree in mathematics and computer science from Roskilde University, Denmark. Mette S. Olufsen is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC[1]. She specialises in mathematical biology, with a focus on cardiovascular physiology, inverse problems, parameter estimation, and differential equations[2]. Dr. Olufsen earned her PhD in applied and industrial mathematics and her MS in mathematics and computer science from Roskilde University, Denmark[1]. She joined North Carolina State University as an assistant professor in 2001 after spending three years in Boston[3]. Her primary research interests include bio-mathematics, mathematical modeling, and combining models with actual data[1]. She is particularly interested in studying the dynamics of cardiovascular, respiratory, and inflammatory systems using fluid dynamics and system-level models[1]. Professor Olufsen has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to numerous books in her field[1]. Her current work focuses on patient-specific modeling of cardiovascular and inflammatory dynamics, as well as sensitivity analysis and parameter inference[5]. Throughout her career, Dr. Olufsen has collaborated with researchers across disciplines and has been recognised for her contributions to mathematical biology and physiological modeling[7]. Her expertise in developing mathematical models to understand complex biological systems has made her a respected figure in the field of applied mathematics and computational biology. References: [1] https://olufsen.wordpress.ncsu.edu [2] https://math.sciences.ncsu.edu/people/msolufse/ [3] https://math.sciences.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/01/2012Spring.pdf [4] https://math.sciences.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2022/05/CV_Olufsen_2022_Website.pdf [5] https://www.siam.org/publications/siam-news/authors/mette-s-olufsen/ [6] https://smb.org/Sys/PublicProfile/8887379 [7] https://archive.vcu.edu/nhlbi/world11/bios/olufsen.html [8] https://scholar.google.com.hk/citations?user=-cpfVloAAAAJ&hl=zh-CN&newwindow=1

Andra Maier

Canada

Dr. Fraser completed his MD/PhD in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was the recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategic Training Fellowship and several prestigious International Research Awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Pediatric Research. Dr. Fraser is a Professor and Clinician Scientist in Pediatric Critical Care/Trauma Medicine at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Fraser is the Director of the Translational Research Centre, a human tissue biobank operating continuously for the past 15 years. He has received multiple Research Innovation Awards and he has filed and executed numerous patents. Dr. Fraser is a Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of NeuroLytixs, Inc., a diagnostics-based biotech company. Dr. Fraser’s research is focused on identifying signaling pathways and diagnostics/prognostic biomarkers for acquired brain injury, severe sepsis and COVID-19. He has profiled Long-COVID patients for changes in their proteome, with specific emphasis on understanding the immune response. He currently leads two International Multicentered Long-COVID Research Programs, “LC-Optimize” (Identification of Long-COVID Sub-Phenotypes to Optimize Patient Outcomes) and “LC-Statistic” (Sudden Death Associated with Post-COVID Condition).

James Baraniuk

USA

James Nicholas Baraniuk, MD, is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC[1][2]. He is also the Director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at Georgetown University[2]. Dr. Baraniuk received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada, in 1981[3]. He completed his internship at St. Thomas Hospital in 1982 and his residency at Duke University Medical Center[3]. Professor Baraniuk's research interests include Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Mucosal Inflammation[5]. He has published extensively in these areas, with over 100 publications to his name[6]. His work focuses on understanding complex chronic conditions and their underlying mechanisms. At Georgetown University, Dr. Baraniuk leads research projects and clinical trials related to chronic pain and fatigue disorders[7]. He is recognised for his contributions to the field of medicine, particularly in the areas of migraine and chronic fatigue syndrome[4]. Throughout his career, Dr. Baraniuk has been cited by numerous researchers in his field, demonstrating the impact and relevance of his work in medical research[6][8]. His expertise spans various aspects of chronic illnesses, making him a respected figure in the medical community. Citations: [1] https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/00336000014RcpuAAC/james-baraniuk [2] https://me-pedia.org/wiki/James_Baraniuk [3] https://www.medstarhealth.org/education/fellowship-programs/rheumatology-georgetown-fellowship/faculty/baraniuk_james [4] https://migraineworldsummit.com/expert/james-baraniuk-md/ [5] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1nkHbZ4AAAAJ&hl=en [6] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Baraniuk [7] https://faculty.georgetown.edu/baraniuj/Site/2006-495.html [8] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Baraniuk/4 James Baraniuk presented his “Year End” report. They have an exercise model that they have used for ten years. They do an extensive set of questionnaires (about 50) and these are done online so that the patient can stop any time they want to and carry on later. The physical and history part is now 50 pages long and it can take up to four days to complete. It is not something a GP can do in eight minutes.

Dr Baraniuk is trying to work with the common data elements to try to develop the key questions that should be asked in every study so that the patient populations from all around the world can be standardised.

They also do allergy skin testing and the rate of positivity is the same in ME/CFS as in the control group. They have now done this in their fourth cohort. The levels of antibodies to allergy IgE are also equivalent between the two groups. Dr Baraniuk does not believe there is an increase in true allergic disease but there is an increase in sensitivity.

After talking to the participants they do an MRI and this includes an MRI during the cognitive test so that they can see if there are differences in the regions of the brain that are activated while the participants are doing the memory test. After this participants do an exercise test that is similar to the one described by Dr Hanson except that Dr Baraniuk’s participants do a submaximal test (at 70% of the person’s predicted maximum heart rate) which lasts 30 minutes as opposed to 10-12 minutes as described by Dr Hanson.
The participants can increase their heart rate up to 85% of their predicted maximum that is the same as cardiac stress test. They do not have to do 30mins. If they want to stop earlier they can stop and that would essentially be the person’s maximum.
Dr Baraniuk finds that his research participants’ day one and day two tests are highly reproducible.

After the second day exercise the participants do their second MRI to see if there are areas of the brain that have changed while they do their thinking and are those changes caused by the exercise and whether this is a model for exertional exhaustion. Finally, everyone who is agreeable gets a lumbar puncture. These participants are kept overnight to reduce the risk of spinal headaches.

The talk then went into discussing hypotheses including depression, pain and tenderness, exercise, postural tachycardia which is not the same as POTS, orthostatic intolerance, MRIs and some results from the CSF studies.

Depression
The depression scale used is a Center for Epidemiological Studies- Depression (CESD) questionnaire involving 20 questions with a scale of 0 to 3. The maximum score is 60 and if one’s score is 16/60 or more one is classed as depressed. This has been shown in 28 studies involving over 22,000 people. The problem is the scale has a 30% false positive rate.
One can do a factor analysis as the questionnaire can be broken down to four factors that are grouped together from the 20 items such as somatic, depressed, anhedonia (lack of pleasure) and interpersonal. The somatic factors are fatigue, sleep, cognition, effort, bother, talking less and appetite change. These four factors have been known for decades but nobody has ever bothered to score them in any patient population.
Dr Baraniuk’s group did this and discovered that using this scale 24% of the US population is at risk of depression and 54% of ME/CFS patients are at risk of depression but this score is biased as it is caused by high somatic domain scores (sleep, cognition etc.). It is the same thing for Gulf War Illness. Depression in ME/CFS discounted based on this evidence.

Pain
Pain is not in the SEID criteria because it does not differentiate CFS from other diseases such as Fibromyalgia. Dr Baraniuk says he has a big problem with how these diseases are defined and to bypass that he wanted to know about tenderness. Does 4kg pressure hurt?
The Baraniuk team uses a spring-loaded gauge to measure pain and the person being measured is in charge during the procedure. They use this on all of the 18 fibromyalgia pressure points and they can then calculate a score for average pain. The score for healthy people is about 7kg of pressure. The CFS group peaks at 4kg. The same thing happens when patients breath in formaldehyde or any other chemical, are exposed to bright lights or loud sounds.
The threshold is broken. An ambient background noise can become a loud and overblown when you have CFS. It is not imaginary but a very real broken switch. It is a hypothesis.

Submaximal exercise
When they did this they were expecting to see similar results to those of the VO2max stress tests. They did not see any difference in day one and day two results. They were identical and overlapped.
The test is up to 30 minutes but people can stop earlier. If people can only do 2 minutes on the first day they can only do 2 minutes on day two as well so it is highly reproducible and turns out to be useful as far as the MRIs are concerned. It also means that if there is a decrease in VO2 in the maximal test there is something magical happening after the Baraniuk participants stop.
We need to know how many people in the VO2max test actually have decreased performance, how much is that decrease and we need to know the sensitivity and specificity particularly if this is going to be used as diagnostic for CFS and certainly if it is being used for disability purposes.
Result: No difference in performance between day one and day two submaximal exercise tests.

Postural tachycardia
In previous research on Gulf War Illness (presented at IiME by Rakib Rayhan) they found 1/3rd of patients developed POTS after day 1 of submaximal exercise. Lying down they would have their normal heart rate and before exercise after they stood up from lying down position their heart rate would increase by about 12 beats.
After exercise 1/3rd would have an increase of at least 30 beats when they stood up and this is a definition used for POTS. This was an unexpected result. They got funding for a verification study in GWI that has now been finished but has been rejected for publication and that is what happens for verification studies.

They found that the START (Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia) group had brain stem atrophy and this is similar to what Richard Kwiatek (Australia) reported in CFS. They then did the same study in their CFS group and report similar findings to GWI START group.
Dr Baraniuk encouraged all exercise study groups to do lying to standing heart rate measurements before and after exercise to disprove his findings.
To find out which groups had POTS they took dizziness scores lying down after exercise and all three (CFS with no heart rate change, CFS START and CFS POTS ) groups had similar scores. After standing up all three groups had again similar scores and this made

Dr Baraniuk think what orthostatic intolerance really is. Is it a difference in sensitivity coming from the vestibular system that one is feeling dizzy and light headed even when lying down and it has nothing to do with one’s heart rate or autonomic system.
Result: Exercise does not worsen orthostatic intolerance.

MRI
There are some changes but it is not that big. They can conclude that those groups that have changes in their heart rate have worse brain function after exercise.

Cerebrospinal fluid & biomarkers
miRNA levels were higher in people who did not exercise and they went down after exercise.
It is not a robust enough diagnostic marker for CFS but it has led to some ideas about what might be going wrong. If the miRNA level goes down one has more messenger RNA and one can make more protein and that protein will have more function. It looks like exercise in CFS leads to increase in some particular enzymes such as Insulin Llike Growth Factor 1 receptor, Transforming Growth Factor Beta Receptor 1 which are very important for proliferation of brain cells.
They have also looked at where these are found and they are in the microglia and choroid plexus which is a vascular region where most of the cerebral spinal fluid is being created. This gives some hints as to where dysfunction might be found after exercise challenge.
Conclusion: CFS is not depression, CFS is somatic, tenderness is increased, there is cardiac effect, MRI effect and CSF changes.