Journal of IiME Volume 8 Issue 1 May 2014 Invest in ME Research Grants Policy Invest in ME supports high quality, biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). The following paragraphs detail our policy and procedures for applying for funding for such research. The charity welcomes applications for grants for projects of 6 months - 3 years duration. Anyone wishing to apply for a grant from the charity should use the form on the web site to apply (links are below), having first appraised oneself of the conditions for grant applications. It is emphasised that Invest in ME’s ethos is to initiate high-quality biomedical research into ME as an urgent requirement. Priority will be given to research which maximises the potential to find causality for ME and/or which promises to provide the greatest improvement for people with ME. Our priorities are steered by the unequivocal belief that ME is of organic origin and requiring a strategy of biomedical research with international collaboration. Our Research Priorities 1. Medical research into: Research associated with Causality Translational biomedical research to provide effective treatments for ME Accurate and comprehensive diagnosis Improved education of healthcare professionals about the disease Telemedicine for use with and by ME patients and their physicians Raising awareness amongst the public, the media and academia Collaboration Collaboration has been one of the central tenets of Invest in ME’s policy since our 2007 international ME conference in London. As a founding member of the European ME Alliance we work with international colleagues (advocates, researchers, research organisations and physicians) to make rapid progress in finding the cause of ME and providing treatments for all. Funding applications will be considered from outside of the UK though we do prefer to use collaborations with UK and European organisations and researchers. Our Research Funding Opportunities Invest in ME Research is committed to funding highquality biomedical research into myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). This is a fundamental part of our strategy for ME which includes creating a UK/European Centre of Excellence for ME (CoE) [1]. The CoE influences our choice of looking for translational biomedical research which can discover causality and provide treatments – in a direct and expeditious way. This therefore means that we are looking for biomedical research applications – covering virology, immunology, and endocrinology with particular emphasis on autoimmunity. Invest in ME Research does not hold large unallocated amounts in a bank for research. We are not a membership charity as we believe ME patients should have access to free information and we try always to offer our products or services for free or at cost price. We campaign for the interests of patients and carers to try to ensure that those most vulnerable are not taken advantage of. We believe it is inappropriate and wasteful to store large amounts of funds which are unused and which just wait for applications. Instead we believe in identifying valid research which fulfils our strategic aims and then in initiating a funding campaign to attain the required funds. A list of current opportunities can be seen at this link. How Funding is Awarded Due to the way in which Invest in ME promotes research and seeks a strategic approach to research we prefer to request ideas for research projects or to identify them ourselves and then perform fundraising campaigns to raise the necessary funds. The way we promote the search for ideas is via our conferences, our researcher colloquiums and meetings and our newsletters. Academic institutions most likely to perform the sort of translational biomedical research into ME Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) www.investinme.org Page 10 of 52
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