The ME Biobank is led by Dr Luis Nacul and based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Samples for the Biobank have been collected from patients in London and East Anglia. The Biobank is especially important as the Biobank Team traveled long distances to collect samples from severely affected patients, a cohort rarely included in research projects.
The project is a longitudinal study that is measuring changes in the immune system and genetic profile of individuals in a disease whose symptoms are known to fluctuate over time. The initial £1 million project, which began in 2013, was over 3 years and had also been made possible by funding from NIH.
The new grant will enable the Biobank to increase in size as even more blood samples and clinical data will be collected from people with ME/CFS, multiple sclerosis, and healthy controls, and then made available to research applicants.
You may recall that last year Dr Nacul and his team prepared a feasability report of Implementation of a Consultant Led ME & CFS Service in Norfolk & Suffolk. Work continues with Commissioners to develop the local service.
Our Group is delighted that the work of the Biobank searching for ME biomarkers is secured until 2021 as a result of this grant.