Journal of IiMER The Centre of Excellence will also provide a highquality partner for those Centres of Excellence being set up or existing in USA and Australia. The Centre of Excellence for ME is not just one building or one lab – it is a model that has fundamental components of collaboration, data sharing and cooperation – sharing facilities, data and ideas. With the help of leading researchers, the charity is proposing a number of initial projects that would help establish a research base and lead to further projects being initiated based on findings. gratitude for the specialised knowledge and input that has been provided. The UCL team are in the regular multi-centre status meetings in Bergen - such is the respect in which they are held, as well as continuing the good collaboration. As we prepare for the UK rituximab trial this is good news indeed. It has now developed into closer collaboration with Dr Fluge and his team visiting Norwich Research Park in January of this year to discuss the UK rituximab trial and collaboration with the UK researchers on developing the best options for the UK rituximab clinical trial. The Norwegian team will visit again in the autumn as the Phase III trial in Norway begins to establish results. The research is the key component for change. Based on a strategy of biomedical research the Centre would create projects that dovetail and would collaborate with other centres where biomedical research into ME was taking place. Apart from those researchers in the Norwich Research Park, the charity has also funded the Bcell research underway at UCL in London where Fane Mensah has been working under supervision of Dr Jo Cambridge. The good relationship that has been established with the researchers at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen continued and Dr Cambridge and Dr Fluge met in Stockholm at a conference organised by our European ME Alliance colleagues at RME Sweden. This collaboration between high quality biomedical researchers - one of the major themes behind Invest in ME Research's research strategy - has been a great success with the Norwegians expressing to us, and Dr Cambridge, their www.investinme.org Having shown great vision and determination in looking at other areas of research linked to their phase III trial experiences and developing an incremental, evolutionary method of research then we feel the Norwegian Haukeland researchers have exactly the model of how good research should proceed. Establishing such a Centre represents a very progressive step in looking for cause(s) of ME and the possibilities will be further increased as the research team moves into the new Quadram Institute, which will open next year. More information is on our microsite at http://www.cofeforme.eu where there are ways to help us raise funds and awareness of this venture - see http://www.investinm.org/ceSupport-cofeforme.shtml Our hashtags for the Centre are #CofEforME and #LetsCresearch. The Centre of Excellence will also provide a highquality partner for those Centres of Excellence being set up or existing in USA and Australia. The Centre of Excellence harnesses the benefits of Page 12 of 82
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