UK Research and Innovation: Researching ME/CFS: highlight notice [First opened 2003]

Updated 2nd May 2023.

"Apply for funding to research myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

You can get the funding through any:

• grants from MRC research boards
• MRC fellowships

We would particularly welcome proposals within MRC remit that address 1 or more of the research areas identified by the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership for ME/CFS research:

• post-exertional malaise
• use of existing drugs for other conditions
• diagnosis
• autoimmunity
• ME/CFS sub-types
• post-infective cause
• neurological symptomology
• genetics
• severe ME/CFS
• mitochondrial dysfunction
• oxygenation dysfunction

We will usually fund up to 80% of your project’s full economic cost."

Further details, https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/researching-me-cfs-highlight-notice/

 

This is the long standing call from the UK funders for applications for funding to study ME, so nothing new, other than updating it to include the detail on the Priority Setting Partnership details, as highlighted by the ME Association on social media.

 

If I'm not mistaken, this call has been open since 2003 (as Andy has noted), so the ME Association tweet is wrong to suggest applications have just opened on 1 May 2023.

 

ME Research UK now posting about it
"UK Research & Innovation has issued a highlight notice - 'Researching ME/CFS' - calling for applications for MRC funding bit.ly/410V6FA for projects and welcoming especially those based on the Priority Setting Partnership's Top Ten + research needs."

 

I just don't think they are getting the proposals. A half decent proposal on one of the PSP priorities probably has a good chance of being funded now. Who/where are these proposals going to come from?

 

@Adrian is it possible to bring this up with MERC/CMRC - perhaps an email can go round to the existing distribution list? (I know MERC is not currently active).

 

I had missed this. My rejected proposal to NIHR () mentioned designing trials based on the PSP priority "use of existing drugs for other conditions". I am planning to submit the same to the MRC Better Research Better Methods in November. Perhaps I should contact the ME/CFS highlight person at the MRC and run it past them?

 

I think that's probably worthwhile. My question is how much is your proposal specific to ME/CFS? It seems the overall concept of the research is more general, but you would use ME/CFS as a sort of case study?

 

Obviously, this is an NIHR proposal and there's no NIHR highlight notice for ME/CFS, but I am aware of projects where part of the funding comes indirectly from other sources (i.e., a mix of MRC and NIHR). Have you seen this? https://www.nihr.ac.uk/explore-nihr/funding-programmes/efficacy-and-mechanism-evaluation.htm

 

I am going to submit the same broad proposal to the MRC Better Methods Better Research fund in November. (https://www.ukri.org/what-we-offer/...t-and-support/better-methods-better-research/) Now I have noticed the MRC highlight for ME/CFS (https://www.ukri.org/opportunity/researching-me-cfs-highlight-notice/), I will make the application much more ME/CFS focused than I did for the NIHR application, including making more of the link to the ME/CFS Priority Setting Partnership (https://www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/priority-setting-partnerships/ME-CFS/). I hope to have people with ME as co-applicants on the application. And also collaborators from the James Lind Priority Setting Partnership and Decode ME if possible.

 

I think this is the way forward. Focus on ME. It will limit the scope and make the proposal more targetted, but the method/results could be generalised and applied to other illnesses.