UK CMRC 2018 Conference held September 19 & 20 at Bristol

Sasha

Sasha

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
...according to today's announcement about the CMRC's new purpose, objectives and values:

https://www.s4me.info/threads/cmrc-...-leave-the-board-of-the-cmrc.2809/#post-50325

Should be interesting. :)

Moderator note:

To enable discussion of each of the talks at the Conference, separate threads have been created for each talk.

For those who prefer to read about the Conference and all the talks, the 24 page MEA report of the conference is here.

Prof Stephen Holgate CMRC Chair. 15 minutes.

Prof Alain Moreau 'Identification of post-exertional dysregulated circulating microRNAs in ME/CFS pathogenesis'. 39 minutes.

Dr Nina Muirhead 'The views of a Doctor with ME on educating Doctors and medical students about ME'. 21 minutes.

Rachel Hunter 'The economic impact of CFS/ME'. 22 minutes.

Dr Eliana Lacerda 'European collaboration in ME/CFS: The EUROMENE network'. 21 minutes.

Rachel French 'CFS/ME, IBS and Fibromyalgia: Chance association or common pathway'. 15 minutes.

Prof Frances Williams 'Twins and the study of chronic pain genetics'. 24 minutes.

Dr Luis Nacul 'The UK ME/CFS Biobank: Accelerating global research in ME/CFS'. 35 minutes.

David Tuller Q & A Session. 11 minutes.

Dr Neil Harrison 'MRC-funded update: Imaging exercise-induced Post-Exertional Malaise in ME/CFS. 26 minutes.

Prof Cathie Sudlow, Chief Scientist, UK Biobank. Anne Faulkner Memorial Lecture: 'Big health data and open science: a powerful combination to generate new understanding of disease'. 54 minutes.

Dr Elisa Oltra 'Differential microRNA profiles in PBMCs and plasma EVs of severely affected ME/CFS patients'. 33 minutes.

Prof Carmine Pariante 'MRC Funded Update: Persistent fatigue induced by interferon-alpha: a novel, inflammation-based, proxy model of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'. 23 minutes.
 
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Sasha said:
...according to today's announcement about the CMRC's new purpose, objectives and values:

https://www.s4me.info/threads/cmrc-...-leave-the-board-of-the-cmrc.2809/#post-50325

Should be interesting. :)
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I think with the latest changes it may be interesting to attend although in the past non-researcher sessions were limited. But even if they have a shorter session that may prove interesting now they are having more patient involvement on the board.

Esther12 said:
Will they finally get around to inviting @dave30th for the keynote?

"David Tuller: How you messed things up (part 1)"
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There may be important lessons from PACE (in terms of methodological failures) etc but I suspect good scientists wouldn't fall for such bad methodology.
 
Sasha said:
I don't see why patients shouldn't attend all the presentations.
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So IiME have a closed session before the main conference for researchers to exchange early results. Also I think it would be good to have smaller sessions between researchers from different fields to try to build research proposals across the fields.

But yes it would be good to be open for the talks etc.
 
Adrian said:
So IiME have a closed session before the main conference for researchers to exchange early results. Also I think it would be good to have smaller sessions between researchers from different fields to try to build research proposals across the fields.

But yes it would be good to be open for the talks etc.
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I agree it's good to have some sessions closed to protect early results and foster networking but otherwise, I'd like to see patients free to attend the talks.
 
Adrian said:
So IiME have a closed session before the main conference for researchers to exchange early results. Also I think it would be good to have smaller sessions between researchers from different fields to try to build research proposals across the fields.
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Sasha said:
I agree it's good to have some sessions closed to protect early results and foster networking but otherwise, I'd like to see patients free to attend the talks.
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The IiME Research closed session spans two days prior to the one day public conference (plus the opportunities at the evening dinners) and this year there will be an extra closed day specifically for Early Career Researchers. Maybe the CMRC conference events will expand on similar lines.
 
Last year's second day of CMRC was closed initially to associate members, ie non researchers/medics, but they changed their minds nearer the time and opened the second day as well.
I had hoped to go, but my back was very dodgy and then my son was starting Uni, the foll w/e.

I have put it in the diary for this year.

I see no reason why DT should not attend

ETA To make sense!
 
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Sasha said:
I don't see why patients shouldn't attend all the presentations.
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Patients giving perspective and guiding research towards the truth, thats too much to ask in 2017 :emoji_face_palm:

An echo chamber is what they want and what they will have (and i hope to be proven wrong)
 
Jo Best said:
The IiME Research closed session spans two days prior to the one day public conference (plus the opportunities at the evening dinners) and this year there will be an extra closed day specifically for Early Career Researchers. Maybe the CMRC conference events will expand on similar lines.
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I think conference sessions fall naturally into three types. The first is a workshop session where numbers are deliberately limited so that active scientists can interact in the most direct way possible. These sessions tend to be by invitation and are often fully funded by the meeting organisers. The IiME colloquia are of this type.

The second type is the standard one for academic societies, where sessions are open to anyone who pays a registration fee. The assumption is that delegates will want presentations to be in a practical scientific format and will accept that they are expected to be up to speed on technical language and concepts. Most delegates will be professional researchers but there is no reason why they have to be. They just have to accept that the presentation is tailored to that audience.

The third type are sessions that are deliberately aimed at a wider audience that might be patients or general public. Showcase meetings at University Graduation Days or suchlike can be like this. In this situation the speakers are expected to present material in a way that is accessible to anyone who is reasonably intelligent and interested.

IiME have traditionally mixed type 1 with type 3 and that seems an excellent formula for a charity.

CMRC should be following the type 2 model, as for a learned society. People have to pay to go to CMRC. They are not invited. And so in general there is no type 1 workshop atmosphere. Numbers may be limited by room size but they are not limited specifically for the purpose of close dialogue. In this context I can see no legitimacy for limiting attendance to professionals of particular sorts. CMRC sessions should be open to patients as long as the patients are ready to listen to scientific language. Only an exclusive club would do otherwise.

I agree that CMRC might consider some type I sessions, which in society meetings are often put under the heading of 'special interest groups'. CMRC is not in the business of type 3 public talks because it is not providing a service to charity donors. It should focus on type 2 presentations but they should be open to anyone prepared to pay a registration fee and listen attentively.
 
Thanks for the good points and the clarity @Jonathan Edwards. I seem to remember from last year (perhaps from a blog by @dave30th but I could be wrong) that the status of CMRC was a bit fuzzy, and some charities are actively involved with CMRC and are members of the Executive Board. It's also clear to me that CMRC notes successful outcomes of the evolution of the IiMER conference and colloquium events since they began in 2006, so I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to emulate and to follow this lead, but I take on board the differences you point out.
 
We want to increase collaboration between researchers in the CFS/ME field and with those from other research/illness areas. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the latest published and unpublished research, meet potential collaborators and contribute to future developments. The event this year will take place on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 September at the Future Inn, Bristol.

The programme is being finalised, but we are delighted to include plenary sessions on International Collaboration, Immunology and Metabolomics with the following presenters confirmed:

  • Dr Derya Unutmaz, National Institutes of Health
  • Prof Alain Moreau,University of Montreal, Canada
  • Mark Jones, UCB Pharma
  • Dr Luis Nacul, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • Dr Eliana Lacerda, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Chair, EUROMENE
  • Dr Elisa Oltra, Universidad Católica de Valencia
  • Cara Tomas, Newcastle University
  • Prof Eleanor Riley, University of Edinburgh
  • Prof Frances Williams, Kings College London
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https://www.eventbee.com/v/cmrc2018#/tickets
 
Registration is now open for the 2018 UK CFS/M.E. Research Collaborative conference, which takes place in Bristol on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 September.

Registration fees for people with M.E. and their carers start from £50 for a single day’s conference pass to £250 per person (or £405 per shared room) for a two-day conference pass including drinks reception, delegates dinner and overnight accommodation.
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https://www.actionforme.org.uk/news/registration-now-open-for-2018-cmrc-conference
 
Was EC not the only speaker not to have their presentation on YouTube last year at CMRC? I could well be wrong as i was only dipping a toe into ME political waters then

I seem to remember Dr Rowe' s POTS lecture highlighting the huge gulf in paediatric knowledge. Up til then children did not have POTS...
 
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