Driving research of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS),
Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia and Post COVID .

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The Ronald G. Tompkins Harvard
ME/CFS Collaboration

at the Harvard Affiliated Hospitals

Clinical and scientific studies to understand and discover new treatments for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Long COVID, and related Multisystem, Chronic Complex Diseases (msCCD).

Core Aims
Philosophy
Science Team
Research

About the research center

Dr. Wenzhong Xiao and Dr. David Systrom

Established in 2018, this research initiative is based at Harvard affiliated hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). 

Including the faculty of the Harvard affiliated hospitals, critical collaborations are represented from Stanford University, Cornell University, University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, Uppsala University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 

This collaborative research center was launched by Ronald G. Tompkins, MD, ScD, and Wenzhong Xiao, PhD. Dr. David Systrom took on the role of Co-Director with Dr. Xiao to continue Dr. Tompkins’ Legacy after his sudden passing in early 2022. This research collaboration seeks to understand and discover new treatments for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Long COVID, and related Multisystem, Chronic Complex Diseases (msCCD).

Core Aims

Understand

the underlying basis of post-exertional malaise and/or post-muscular stress
 

Determine

the role of neuroinflammation in ME/CFS

 

Diagnose

possible pathologies associated with ME/CFS patients
 

Ascertain

the role of circulation and autonomic issues in ME/CFS
 

Increase

efficiency of clinical visits for ME/CFS patients to significantly reduce wait times

Develop

the infrastructure to begin treatment trials and form a center of excellence for ME/CFS

Fundamental Philosophy

  • Work collaboratively with other groups
  • Use the most advanced technology available to perform the research
  • Explore the research community to find experts in the areas to study
  • Take direct measures from ME/CFS patients to avoid artificial observations
  • Research multiple tissues of the body and consider stark differences of different cell types

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studies

Scientific Team

Massachusetts General Hospital

In Memoriam – Ronald Tompkins, MD, ScD

Wenzhong Xiao, PhD

Donna Felsenstein, MD

Amel Karaa, MD

Andrew Alexander, MBA

Peng Li, PhD

Karen Buch, MD

Brigham & Womens Hospital

David Systrom, MD

Anthony Komaroff, MD

BI Deaconess Medical Center

Janet Mullington, PhD

Boston University

Lewis Kazis, ScD

Mary Slavin, PhD

Pengsheng Ni, PhD

Bill Rogers, PhD

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Richard Smith, PhD

John Jacob, PhD

Wei-Jun Qian, PhD

Chiari Neurosurgical Center

Paolo Bologenese, MD

Ilene Ruhoy, MD

Center For Healing Neurology

David Koffman, MD

University of Nottingham, UK

Philip Atherton, PhD

Paul Greenhaff, PhD

Daniel Wilkinson, PhD

Mathew Piasecki, PhD

University of Birmingham, UK

Janet Lord, PhD

Cornell University

Maureen Hanson, PhD

Open Medicine Foundation

Linda Tannenbaum

Chris Armstrong, PhD

Stanford University

Ronald Davis, PhD

Uppsala University, Sweden

Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD

SUPPORT OMFCA 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.

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Learn about Our Other OMF Funded Collaborative Research Centers

Stanford
Uppsala
Montréal
Melbourne
NMR Metabolomics
NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) is an instrument/tool used to perform metabolic studies, metabolic profiling, and metabolomics in biofluids and tissues for more than 40 years using magnetic fields. There is a very close connection between metabolic measurements and NMR. This connection has flourished because of NMR’s many unique strengths for characterizing complex mixtures’ chemical composition.
Proteomics
The large-scale study of proteins, which are large, complex molecules that are required for structure, function, and regulation of the human body's tissues and organs.
Microvesicles and viral sequencing
Microvesicles are a type of extracellular vesicle that is released from the cell membrane. Vesicles are small, fluid-filled sacs or vacuoles within the body. Sequencing is a technique used to determine the exact sequence of bases (A, C, G, and T) in a DNA (or viral) molecule.
Micro RNA
Cells use Micro RNA to control whether a particular gene is making too much, too little or the normal amount of its protein at a particular time.
Autoantibodies
Antibodies that react with self-molecules and that occur in healthy individuals and are referred to as natural antibodies or autoantibodies.
Extracellular DNA for viral reactivation and Mitochondrial DNA
exDNA (extracellular DNA), exDNA is often secreted actively and is used to perform several tasks, thereby offering an attractive target or tool for biotechnological, medical, environmental, and general microbiological applications. Viruses are intracellular parasites that rely to a significant extent on the host cell for replication. Viral reactivation occurs when an active replication of the viral genome results in a lytic (degradation of the cell) infection characterized by the release of new progeny (descendant) virus particles.
Immune cell profiling
The immune system has many important regulatory roles in disease development and progression. Given the emergence of effective immune therapies, reliable predictors of response are needed. Immune cell profiling determines response by evaluating immune cell populations from treated and untreated samples. For our purposes, we will evaluate the white blood cell response to the viral infection using a process called “Cytof.”
Leukocyte Genomics
A leukocyte is a colorless cell circulating in the blood and body fluids and is involved in counteracting foreign substances and disease. A genome is all genetic material of an organism. Genomics is a biology field focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. Therefore, leukocyte genomics is the study of all genetic material of leukocytes.
Metabolomics
Metabolomics is a way to study metabolism – that is, through measuring amounts of the metabolites (small molecules) produced by our bodies as we convert food into energy and other molecules that our cells need to survive. Metabolomics technology is ‘large-scale,’ meaning that several thousand metabolites can be measured from a single sample of e.g., blood or urine.