Journal of IiME Volume 1 Issue 1 Dr. Jonathan Kerr Jonathan Kerr was born in Belfast in 1963, qualified in medicine from Queen’s University of Belfast (1987), and completed training as a medical microbiologist (1995). He has worked as a microbiologist in Belfast, Manchester and London, taking up post as a Consultant Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at Royal Brompton Hospital / Imperial College in June 2001, and then Sir Joseph Hotung Clinical Senior Lecturer in Inflammation at St George’s University of London in 2005. His interest in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) began during a study of the consequences of parvovirus B19 infection, when he showed that a percentage of infected cases developed CFS which persisted for several years. He is now the principal investigator in a programme of research in CFS. This involves development of a diagnostic test using mass spectrometry, analysis of human and viral gene expression in the white blood cells, and clinical trials of immunomodulatory drugs. Dr. Jonathan Kerr and colleagues at St. George’s University of London reported in the July 27, 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Pathology that a preliminary study of 25 CFS patients and 25 matched healthy controls revealed abnormalities in 35 of 9,522 genes analyzed using microarray technology. Polymerase chain reaction studies showed the same results for 16 of these genes. The study, and its results, raises some important questions. The first of which pertains to the need for funding of microbiological CFS research. He is funded (>£1million) by the CFS Research Foundation (www.cfsrf.com), a charitable organization based in the U.K., and leads a group of 5 scientists at St George's. The Foundation needs private support to continue their research efforts. They also openly post the results of their efforts on their website http://www.cfsrf.com. Dr. Ian Gibson MP for Norwich North Dr. Ian Gibson has been the MP for Norwich North since his election in 1997. He is originally from Scotland and was born in Dumfries on the 26th September 1938. He went to school at Dumfries Academy and acquired a passion for all things scientific- especially biology. He pursued his passion for science by going on to study at Edinburgh University where he gained a BSC and later on a PhD in genetics. He served as the Dean of the School of Biological Sciences at UEA from 1991 to 1997 and headed a research team investigating various forms of cancer, including leukaemia, breast and prostate cancer. In 2003, the university made Fr. Gibson an Honorary Professor. Dr. Gibson first stood for Parliament in 1992. Although losing that election by just 266 votes he tried again in 1997 and won the Norwich North seat by 9470 votes. He has been re-elected twice since 1997- in 2001 and most recently in May 2005. His work in Parliament and in Norwich has primarily consisted of advocacy work and pushing the government to take more notice of the role that science plays (and can play) in the UK. His scientific background has meant that he has been involved in numbers of groups and charities in Parliament. Invest in ME Charity Nr 1114035 www.investinme.org 29
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