Journal of IiMER June 2024 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE We last published a journal in 2019 for the conference week in London – the last before the pandemic hit. The Journal, and conference week events, were always a good time to reflect on what progress had been made and discover what was happening in research. A great deal has happened since the pandemic began and some things have changed, although Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) still faces the same issues as we have recorded over the last eighteen years since the charity was formed. This is plainly apparent from the findings of the European ME Alliance Pan-European ME Patient Survey, which was published, appropriately, on World Health Day 2024. We have the overview of findings from the report included in the Journal. Since 2005, the charity has maintained an unwavering commitment to driving significant strides in the field of ME research. How else could it be as the charity is run by volunteers - patients or parents of children with ME - no salaries, no government funding, not controlled by outside influences - but with wonderful supporters? As an independent UK charity facilitating and funding a strategy of high-quality biomedical research and promoting better education about ME, our journey has been marked by relentless dedication to using innovation to progress biomedical research. In this period, we have organised and hosted sixteen influential annual conferences, thirteen annual and progressive international biomedical research colloquiums, (a sequence broken only by the pandemic), and facilitated four early career researcher workshops. Notably, we have established the first Fellowship for ME, completed five PhDs, and are on the brink of initiating our second Fellowship. The charity is also funding the only clinical trial for ME in the UK, and is looking to fund more research that is on the way, embodying the urgency that defines our approach in translating research into tangible outcomes, where all of our income is used to fund and facilitate biomedical research into ME. Beyond borders, we have been involved in the recent NIH Roadmap Research programme and fostered and galvanised collaboration through the creation of European groups for patients, researchers, clinicians, and young Invest in ME Research DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this Journal by contributors and others do not necessarily represent those of Invest in ME Research. No medical recommendations are given or implied. Patients with any illness are recommended to consult their personal physician at all times. Page 2 of 32 INVEST IN ME RESEARCH PO Box 561 Eastleigh SO50 0GQ Hampshire, UK Email: info@investinme.org Web site: www.investinme.org UK charity Nr. 1153730 IN THIS ISSUE PAN-EUROPE SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
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