Journal of IiME Volume 7 Issue 1 commitment and vision which is to be welcomed as we try to facilitate international collaboration and sharing. And we would like thank our EMEA colleagues in Sweden. RME have kindly donated to help with the costs of the conference. We would like to thank Simmaron Research Foundation for generously sponsoring the tickets of two medical students from University of East Anglia. We would like to thank the presenters for coming to London to speak at IIMEC8 and all the delegates who attend in order to make this happen. We thank all of our supporters for their support in raising ME awareness, for their efforts in funding biomedical research and for their inspiration. The theme of the 8th Invest in ME International ME Conference 2013 in London on 31st May is Mainstreaming ME Research - an acceptance that, despite the past, research into ME is now joining the mainstream research area deserving of more funding and of the interest of top biomedical research institutions. The IIMEC8 conference will highlight the major biomedical research initiatives into ME now taking place. Enjoy the Journal. Enjoy the conference. Let’s do it for ME. Invest in ME ME QUOTES "The delayed responses starting from 2–7 months after Rituximab treatment, in spite of rapid B-cell depletion, suggests that CFS is an autoimmune disease and may be consistent with the gradual elimination of autoantibodies preceding clinical responses. The present findings will impact future research efforts in CFS." Mella and Fluge, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway http://bit.ly/10krfqn Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) London. The Biomedical Research into ME Collaborative (BRMEC) Meeting London on 30th May has attending almost 40 of the world’s experts and leading clinicians involved with ME. This meeting follows on from the cooperation and dedication of the Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation (Australia) and Invest in ME (UK). To raise awareness of ME, and promote collaboration, innovation and foundations for a clearer strategy of biomedical research into ME, Invest in ME and the Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation of Australia continue the collaboration which has been a feature for several years, and which established the Clinical Autoimmunity Working Group which met in London in May 2012. The extraordinary skill and experience which can be harnessed by meetings such as last year’s Clinical Autoimmunity Working Group meeting in London and this year’s BRMEC meeting, as well as the possibilities to progress further the understanding of the disease by “crowd sourcing” experience and ideas, promises to enable a unique contribution to understanding ME and suggest future research directions and perhaps treatments. Chairing the meeting was Dr Ian Gibson, former Dean of Biology at UEA and Professor Hugh Perry of Southampton University and Chair of the Medical Research Council Neurosciences Board. The objectives of the meeting were: 1. To present the status of some of the latest initiatives occurring in biomedical research into ME www.investinme.org Page 7 of 36 (May 2013) As part of the conference events this year Invest in ME have organised another researchers meeting in
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