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Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration

Precision research program to identify the unique biology of individuals and the unifying biological pathways of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).

About the research center

Established in 2020, the Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration is directed by Christopher W. Armstrong, PhD.

“We are tremendously grateful for the generous support from Emerge Australia, our Australian partner. Emerge Australia is a national organization providing information, support, and advocacy for people with ME/CFS — giving hope and help to more than 250,000 Australians living with the disease,” Linda Tannenbaum, OMF Founder & CEO/President.

One woman researcher and two male researchers facing left in lab

Chris Armstrong, PhD, headshot

The Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration  seeks to characterize the unifying biological pathways of ME/CFS that relate to the shared disease experience between patients while also understanding each patient’s unique biology that creates variation in disease experience and severity.

Chris Armstrong, PhD, was OMF’s Science Liaison and a Visiting Scholar at Stanford. He completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Melbourne, and has been involved with researching ME/CFS for over a decade. 

Dr. Armstrong is most well known for his research using metabolomics to observe biochemical alterations in ME/CFS patients. He began his work in this field at the University of Melbourne, beginning a PhD project to apply metabolomics to study  (ME/CFS) and published his first metabolomics study on blood and urine in 2015.

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

Core Aims

Develop

methods to understand the biology of the individual with ME/CFS.

Translate

understanding of the disease into practical treatment approaches.
 

Determine

the unifying biology between ME/CFS patients.

Understand

the development of ME/CFS in children and teenagers.

Reveal

the biology underlying ME/CFS symptoms.

Build

tools for research and treating ME/CFS.
Woman researcher looking through microscope. Male in background

Fundamental Philosophy

  • Every individual is biologically unique.
  • Disease biology is dynamic, not static.
  • Metabolism is strongly associated with symptom expression.
  • Define research questions and develop a research plan to answer them.
  • Measure the biology as it occurred in the body where possible.
  • Use extensive observations and data to generate hypotheses.
  • Translate research to tools that can be accessible to other researchers and clinicians.
  • Bring young scientists and clinicians into the research field.
  • Collaborate with experts out of our field and use their expertise.
  • Research biology at many layers, from biochemistry to cells to tissues

View our latest news

Single Day Longitudinal Study

This study seeks to understand the biological mechanisms driving the symptomatology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) using metabolomic and lipidomic high-throughput analysis and high-frequency blood sampling over a 6.5 to 7.5 hour period conducted at two separate sites (Melbourne and Uppsala).

Newsletter February 2021

An Update from Chris Armstrong, Director, Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration The Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration is the fifth and newest OMF funded collaborative research center. After making

studies

Temporally Resolved Omics Tracking of ME/CFS

This study seeks to understand the biological mechanisms driving the symptomatology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) using metabolomic and lipidomic high-throughput analysis and high-frequency blood sampling over a 6.5 to 7.5 hour period conducted at two separate sites (Melbourne and Uppsala).

Read More

Single Day Longitudinal Study

This study seeks to understand the biological mechanisms driving the symptomatology of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) using metabolomic and lipidomic high-throughput analysis and high-frequency blood sampling over a 6.5 to 7.5 hour period conducted at two separate sites (Melbourne and Uppsala).

Read More

Itaconate Trap Study

This project aims to look at metabolic traps in central carbon metabolism that lead to observed altered energy production pathways in ME/CFS.

Read More

Nitrogen Hypothesis

This project aims to test the nitrogen hypothesis, which is that damaging, nitrogen-containing by-products of energy metabolism accumulate more readily in the cells of ME/CFS patients.

Read More

Ocular Motor Study

The aim of this project is to fully characterise eye movement changes in ME/CFS on two consecutive days, identifying an ocular motor signature that is unique to the disorder.

Read More

Deep Proteome and Metabolome Profiling

Decode the molecular mechanisms underlying ME/CFS and contributing to specific symptoms with a particular emphasis of post-exertional malaise (PEM). This includes deep phenotyping of ME patients and global proteomic/metabolomics plasma profiling of ME..

Read More

Scientific Team

To carry out these ambitious projects, Dr. Armstrong is establishing networks and collaborations extending to USA, UK, Sweden, and other Australian institutions. 

Woman researcher looking at colorful lab results

University of Melbourne, Australia

Paul Gooley, PhD

Natalie Thomas, PhD

Kathy Huang

Amber Jaa-Kwee

Xiaoyun Wang, PhD

Neil McGregor, PhD

David Ascher, PhD

Elisha Josev, PhD

Sarah Knight, PhD

Adam Scheinberg, MD

David Stroud, PhD

Rob Williams

Leigh Johnston, PhD

Stanford University, USA

Ronald Davis, PhD

Michael Snyder, PhD

Robert Phair, PhD

Laurel Crosby, PhD

Ryan Kellogg, PhD

Linda Lan, PhD

Julie Wilhelmy

Jaime Seltzer

Arshdeep Chauhan 

 

Uppsala University, Sweden

Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

David Systrom, MD

Wenzhong Xiao, PhD

University of Montreal, Canada

Alain Moreau, PhD

Open Medicine Foundation

Linda Tannenbaum

UC San Diego, USA

Robert Naviaux, MD, PhD

University of Alabama Birmingham, USA

Jarred Younger, PhD

University College London, UK

Jo Cambridge, PhD

La Trobe University, Australia

Sarah Annesley, PhD

Paul Fisher, PhD

Daniel Missailidis

Australian National University, Australia

Brett Lidbury, PhD

Alice Richardson, PhD

Monash University, Australia

Joanne Fielding, PhD

Meaghan Clough, PhD

SUPPORT
OMF Funded
Critical Research

Please help us expand our research efforts across the globe. Every donation brings us closer to a fully-funded research effort and the answers we all seek.

SUPPORT
OMF Australia Funded
Critical Research

OMF Australia Limited is a Health Promotion Charity, established for the purpose of promoting and funding research into multi-system chronic complex diseases, and supports the Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration.

Learn about Our Other OMF Funded Collaborative Research Centers

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation®

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