#MayMomentum 2021 campaign kick-off
A new $1,000,000 ME/CFS research grant!
Today Open Medicine Foundation launches its fourth annual #MayMomentum campaign to commemorate ME/CFS International Awareness Day on May 12, and honor the millions of lives disrupted by chronic complex diseases.
May Momentum is an extraordinary effort by OMF to increase awareness and raise funds to energize nearly 20 OMF-funded research projects conducted by the OMF Research Collaborative. Our studies strive to find answers, treatments, and a cure for ME/CFS and related chronic complex illnesses, including Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Post COVID Syndrome (also known as Long COVID).
On this first day, we are thrilled to announce that OMF has received an incredibly generous grant from the Khosla Family Foundation of $1,000,000 to advance this critically needed research! The grant will fund groundbreaking research projects being conducted at the OMF funded ME/CFS Collaboration at Uppsala University, directed by Dr. Jonas Bergquist, and Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration, led by Dr. Christopher Armstrong.
We are passionate about winning this fight! OMF works every day to push research forward, seek new collaborative opportunities, and attract the resources necessary to win the fight against ME/CFS and related diseases, returning millions to the healthy lives they deserve.
We sincerely hope you will join our worldwide community and support OMF during this year’s #MayMomentum campaign. Together, we can amplify our mission to end the suffering endured by millions worldwide.
The Research
“Identifying disease development pathways and exacerbating factors”
This study, conducted by the Melbourne Collaboration, will investigate the hypothesis that ME/CFS has a central energy metabolism issue underlying its common symptoms. This study will use grant funds to analyze and compare data from the UK Biobank with datasets Melbourne obtained from three other research entities.
“Identifying objective behavioral markers of deficit in patients with ME/CFS”
Also led by the Melbourne Collaboration, the objective of this study is to identify ocular motor (eye control) measures in the brain unique to people with ME/CFS. This project will be done in collaboration with Monash University.
“Analyzing cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples through proteomics and metabolomics”
Led by the Uppsala ME/CFS Collaboration, researchers will collect additional samples of cerebrospinal fluid and plasma from ME/CFS participants and analyze them through proteomics (the large-scale study of proteins) and metabolomics (analysis of the metabolism) to further researchers’ understanding of the underlying causes of the disease through current research at Uppsala.
Also led by the Melbourne Collaboration, the objective of this study is to identify ocular motor (eye control) measures in the brain unique to people with ME/CFS. This project will be done in collaboration with Monash University.
OMF extends our sincere gratitude to the Khosla Family Foundation for their generosity and investment in the OMF Collaborative for ME/CFS research. We also would like to thank Dr. Bergquist and Dr. Armstrong for their commitment to finding treatments and a cure for millions suffering from chronic complex diseases.
It’s only through the power of community that we will find answers. This #MayMomentum we invite you to help accelerate research into these life-altering diseases — here’s just a few ways you can get involved:
- Join us TODAY at 11 am PDT for our Virtual Open House to hear the latest research updates from the OMF Collaborative
- Create your own online fundraiser for OMF
- Donate to OMF today! Any amount helps advance this urgent research
When you support OMF, this critical research gains momentum — and with you on our team, we remain hopeful answers will be found. Thank you for your support!
