JOURNAL OF IIMER May 2026 Rikke Katrine Jentoft Olsen’group has a longstanding focus on inborn errors of mitochondrial metabolism and fatty acid oxidation disorders. In recent years she has extended this work to examine the role mitochondria may play in ME - bringing deep expertise in mitochondrial biology to a question that is now central to the field. Professor Edmund Kunji of the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, studies mitochondrial carrier proteins and their role in transporting metabolites, cofactors and ions across the inner mitochondrial membrane. His work on how these carriers regulate the flow of energy substrates is directly relevant to whether impaired mitochondrial transport underlies the energy metabolism failures observed in ME. At BRMEC15 he will present on the role of transport in mitochondrial energy metabolism. Dr Robert Phair of Integrative Bioinformatics Inc, USA, is a systems biologist with over 35 years of experience in kinetic modelling of complex biological systems. He has developed the Itaconate Shunt Hypothesis for ME pathogenesis - proposing that a metabolic switch involving the itaconate shunt, normally part of the innate immune response, is inappropriately activated in ME, diverting energy metabolism away from normal mitochondrial function. At BRMEC15 he will present model predictions and experimental tests of this hypothesis. Anouk Slaghekke of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a PhD candidate whose research focuses on skeletal muscle adaptations in ME - peripheral muscle oxygenation, muscle structure and function, and post-exertional malaise. Her work on microvascular dysfunction and basal membrane thickening in skeletal muscle connects the metabolic abnormalities of ME directly to structural changes in tissue, offering a mechanistic account of why physical exertion produces such severe and prolonged consequences for ME patients. At BRMEC15 she will present on failures in the peripheral oxygen transport cascade - microvascular and mitochondrial dysregulation in long COVID and ME. Session 7: Keynote Professor Sarah Teichmann of the University of Cambridge is one of the world's leading computational biologists and a pioneer of single-cell genomics. As a founder of the Human Cell Atlas - the landmark international project to map every cell type in the human body - her work has transformed the way biology understands cellular diversity, tissue organisation and immune function. At BRMEC15 she will present on mapping the human body one cell at a time, bringing to the colloquium a perspective that spans the full breadth of modern biological science. Her presence as keynote speaker reflects the ambition of BRMEC15 to situate ME research within the wider frontier of biomedical discovery. Invest in ME Research Page 28 of 35
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