Journal of IiME Volume 8 Issue 1 May 2014 Invest in ME Research Grants Policy that we require are invited to our research meetings and to our conferences. We also circulate our newsletter to many different academic institutions. In this way we believe we build awareness of our requirements and opportunities. With the gut microbiome research, which is our foundation project for a centre of excellence for ME, we directly sought support and assistance from University of East Anglia as that university plays an important role in the Norwich Research Park, which is the location for our proposed centre. Peer Reviewing The charity has a list of external reviewers whom we will ask to peer review any applications for funding and projects. We will assess all applications based on the relevance and usefulness of the research and in accordance with our research priorities, scientific merit, timescale and cost. How to Apply If potential researchers wish to first enquire informally about a project and grant request then please contact us using the contact details at the end of this article. Application Forms are available here – Word http://www.investinme.org/Documents/IIM E%20Grant%20Application%20Forms/IIME%20Rese arch%20Grant%20Application%20Form.docx PDFhttp://www.investinme.org/Documents/IIME%20Gr ant%20Application%20Forms/IIME%20Research%2 0Grant%20Application%20Form.pdf The award of any research grants will be according to Invest in ME’s terms and conditions and all decisions regarding acceptance or non-acceptance of research applications are the charity’s and will be final. Medical Ethics Projects funded by Invest in ME are to be conducted in accordance with the guidelines and principles described by the Declaration of Helsinki. It is expected that the research will be verified and approved by the appropriate research & development and ethics committees related to the research team. Dedicated Funds Invest in ME will maintain ring-fenced funds for those projects which require dedicated campaigns to support the fund-raising activities. Invest in ME also maintains a general Biomedical Research Fund which is used for many activities associated with biomedical research. Use of Animals in Medical Research The projects currently envisaged or being funded by Invest in ME are not, as far as we are aware, involving animals, and the charity currently has no plans to do so. Dissemination of results Results from Invest in ME-funded projects would be expected to be published in professional scientific journals. Invest in ME will expect frequent reports on progress of the research which would be disseminated though our web site, newsletter and Journal. ME FACTS “The hypothesis of the present study is that the appearance of cell-specific autoimmune antibodies may define subsets of (ME)CFS. (ME)CFS is clinically similar to several autoimmune disorders that can be diagnosed and characterised by autoantibody profiles. For this reason, we conducted an exhaustive evaluation of 11 ubiquitous nuclear and cellular autoantigens in addition to two neuronal specific antigens. Very few studies have evaluated the presence of autoantibodies in people with (ME)CFS. The findings of this study hint that evaluation of certain autoantibodies may give clues to ongoing pathology in subsets of (ME)CFS subjects. Among (ME)CFS subjects, those who had been sick longer had higher rates of autoantibodies” (S Vernon et al. Journal of Autoimmune Diseases May 25th, 2005:2:5). Invest in ME (Charity Nr. 1114035) www.investinme.org Page 11 of 52
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