Professor Simon Carding

UK

Upon completing postgraduate work at the Medical Research Council’s Clinical Research Centre in Harrow, Professor Carding “emigrated” to the USA to take up a postdoctoral position at New York University School of Medicine, and then at Yale University as a Howard Hughes Fellow in the Immunobiology Group at Yale University. While at Yale an interest in gamma-delta (γδ) T cells was acquired working closely with Adrian Hayday on molecular genetics and then with Prof. Peter Doherty to establish their role in (viral) infectious disease.
He left Yale after five years to take up a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where he developed a research interest in mucosal and GI-tract immunology, performing studies in germfree mice with Prof John Cebra that helped establish the role of gut microbes in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
After 15 years in the USA, he returned to the UK to take up the Chair in Molecular Immunology at the University of Leeds where he established a new research programme on commensal gut bacteria and Bacteroides genetics leading to the development of a Bacteroides drug delivery platform that is being used for developing new interventions for IBD and for mucosal vaccination.
In 2008 he was recruited by UEA and IFR to develop a gut research programme, taking up the Chair of Mucosal Immunology at UEA-MED and the position of head of the Gut Biology Research Programme at IFR, which later became part of the Gut Health and Food Safety (GHFS) Programme.
GHFS research covers a broad area of gut biology including epithelial cell physiology, mucus and glycobiology, mucosal immunology, commensal microbiology, foodborne bacterial pathogens, and mathematical modelling and bioinformatics. The success of this programme has led to the establishment of the Gut Microbes and Health research programme that is integral to the research agenda of The Quadram Institute.

Dr Jesper Mehlsen

Denmark

Dr Jesper Mehlsen graduated as a medical doctor in 1979 and finished his specialist training in 1990. He has published more than 140 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals, mainly on the autonomic nervous system and more recently on complex diseases possibly resulting form HPV-vaccination.
For more than 35 years, he has worked clinically and in research with dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. Such dysfunction may lead to symptoms from a number of different organs often dominated by diminished control of blood pressure and heart rate.
Over the past 5 years, he has worked clinically and in research with patients who suspect side effects due to HPV vaccination to be the cause of a number of symptoms, common to those seen in chronic ME.
Dr Mehlsen is co-chair of the European ME Research Group (EMERG).

Tamas Korcsmaros

UK

Dr Tamas Korcsmaros is a systems biologist working with both computational and experimental approaches to study signalling networks in the gut.
For 15 years, he has been been working in the field of intra- and inter-cellular signalling networks and the regulation of autophagy, a key cellular process for maintaining health and fight diseases. He is particularly interested in how cell-cell and cell-microbe interactions affect intestinal homeostasis, and how one could use precision medicine to tackle current challenges to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
In his group they have developed gap-filling computational resources and applied experimental novel systems, such as organoids, to achieve these goals.
Besides leading his research group that focuses on improving our understanding on the pathomechanisms of IBD, he is also co-leading the NIHR Imperial BRC Organoid Facility to establish patient-specific multi-omics studies for various complex diseases.

REFERENCES

References

• Korcsmaros lab
• Researchgate Tamas Korcsmaros

David Price

UK

Professor David A Price MRCP DPhil DTM&H FAoP FLSW FRSB graduated with double first class honours in medical sciences and pathology at the University of Cambridge and completed his clinical training at King's College Hospital London.
He practised internal medicine, specialising in infectious and tropical diseases, before pursuing a doctorate in molecular immunology at the University of Oxford.
After further academic clinical appointments, his research was conducted with fellowship support at the NIH Vaccine Research Center.
He was appointed as Chair of Infection and Immunity at Cardiff University School of Medicine in October 2007.
His research program focuses on the development and implementation of advanced biotechnologies to characterise immune responses against globally relevant pathogens, such as HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2.

REFERENCES

• Cardiff University Profiles
• Cardiff University awarded major funding to research long Covid
• NIHR Researching long COVID: addressing a new global health challenge

Associate Professor Jos Bosch

Netherlands

In 2012 he was appointed associate professor in the Department of Psychology, section Clinical Psychology.
His research investigates the psychobiology of medical disorders, with the aim to understand and mitigate the impact of disease.
His dual expertise in psychology and biology allows him to approach this topic in a genuinely interdisciplinary manner, by integrating methods and concepts from both fields, and apply these to experimental laboratory studies, clinical investigations, and epidemiological analyses. More recently hsi work has expanded to include Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a source of novel approaches to the analysis and modification of human biology and behaviour. The latter program of research is funded by two H2020 consortium grants, of which he isa lead and a coordinator, and involves intensive collaborations with groups accross continental Europe, the UK, and the US.

Since 2019 he became Associate Editor of Health Psychology Review, having previously acted as associate/senior editor for Brain, Behavior & Immunity (2011-2014), Psychological Bulletin (2010-2013), and Health Psychology (2010-2015).

In 2018 he was appointed Program Leader of the AMC/VUmc research institute ‘Amsterdam Public Health' (APH), Divsion of Mental Health (https://www.amsterdamumc.org/research/institutes/amsterdam-public-health.htm). In 2020 I was reappointed for 2 more years.

In 2023 Jos was awarded a grant of more than seven million euros to commence new biomedical research into ME/CFS.

Further reading:

Associate Professor Rikke Katrine Jentoft Olsen

Denmark

Rikke's research group has a longstanding interest in inborn errors of mitochondrial metabolism with special focus on fatty acid oxidation disorders. We integrate genetic diagnostics of affected families with research into cell pathological mechanisms and novel treatment modalities in the form of mitochondrial vitamins/co-factors and anaplerotic compounds for the tricarboxylic acid cycle. In recent years, we have initiated research programs to understand the role that mitochondria may play in ME.

Besides science, Rikke KJ Olsen is an active member of the Neonatal Screening Program for inborn errors of metabolism in Denmark and board member of international scientific organisations within fatty acid oxidation disorders and ME/CFS.

• ORCID: Associate Professor Rikke Olsen

Professor Jonas Bergquist

Sweden

Professor Begquist has a background as MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Neuroscience , Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the University of Gothenburg. Since 1999 , he has been a researcher in Uppsala, Sweden, and in 2005 was appointed professor of analytical chemistry and neurochemistry at the Department of Chemistry - BMC , Uppsala University. From 2011 he worked also as an adjunct professor of pathology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Associate Professor Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber, MD, PhD

Austria

Dr. Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber Associate Professor of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at The University of Vienna. Her research interests are Immunology and Microbiology, Comparative Immunology and Oncology, Pathophysiology.
In 2011, Dr.in Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber completed her specialist training. Since then, Dr.in Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has worked as a specialist and associate professor at the ” Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at the Medical University of Vienna. In 2012, Dr.in Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber completed her part-time doctoral studies in natural sciences at the University of Salzburg and received her doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.). She is the author of more than 40 internationally acclaimed articles published in renowned journals, which have so far been cited more than 1000 times by other authors in publications. For her work in the field of food allergy, Dr.in Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has received numerous prizes such as the Pirquet Prize, the most important prize in the field of allergy research of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology, the Theodor Billroth Prize of the Medical Association of Vienna and the Vienna Chamber of Commerce Prize 2014.
In addition, Dr Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has led and managed numerous competitively funded research projects on food allergy, gastrointestinal immunology and oncology since 2005. She is a member of national and international committees such as the Austrian and European Societies for Allergolgy and Immunology and the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum. Dr. Untersmayr-Elsenhuber has participated in numerous science communication activities for years, such as the production of information brochures, the Children’s University, the Long Night of Research and Science at the VHS Vienna.
(with grateful thanks to https://www.praxis-neustift.com/en/prof-ddr-eva-untersmayr-elsenhuber/)

Links:

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Elisa Oltra

Spain

Dr. Elisa Oltra is a professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Universidad Católica de Valencia “San Vicente Mártir” where she also works as a researcher in the area of stem-cell and cancer.
She obtained an M.S. degree in Biochemistry at the Universitat de Valencia (Spain) and later earned her PhD in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Miami, FL (USA) where she stayed for her post-doctoral training and later, as Senior Scientist till 2006 when she moved back to Spain. During her studies at the University of Miami she identified alternative 5´UTR sequences involved in regulating cell-cell communication through mechanisms of differential connexin43 expression in the heart.
She also isolated a novel essential protein (Ini) and demonstrated its participation in mechanisms of transcription and splicing.
In 2009 she started a project to investigate the molecular basis of Fibromyalgia having identified at present irregularities in RNAseL expression and miRNAs profile changes in the participating patients which could lead to a deeper understanding of the disease.
In 2012 she joined the IVP Valencian Institute of Pathology, also at the Universidad Católica de Valencia where she is currently studying a specific type of vesicles: the exosomes, as mediators of stem-cell based therapies.
She is also academic director of the first officially accredited Master degree in Biobanking in Europe in collaboration with the Spanish Network of Biobanking at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid (Spain).

Chris Ponting

UK

Christopher Ponting is a British computational biologist, specialising in the evolution and function of genes and genomes. He is currently Chair of Medical Bioinformatics at the University of Edinburgh and group leader in the MRC Human Genetics Unit.
He is also an Associate Faculty member of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
His research focuses on long noncoding RNA function and evolution, on single cell biology and on disease genomics.
Professor Ponting contributed to the Human Genome Project, and participated in sequence comparison for the mouse, chicken, dog, opossum, and platypus Genome Projects. He has also used comparative genomics to contribute directly to the understanding of chromatin structure and the genetics of numerous conditions including asthma,obesity, Alzheimer's disease, retinitis pigmentosa, muscular dystrophies, and Aicardi–Goutières syndrome. Additionally, his lab is part of DecodeME, a genetic study to determine the potential causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Professor Nancy Klimas

USA

Director, Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University.
Director, Clinical Immunology Research, Miami VAMC
Professor of Medicine, Department of Clinical Immunology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
Chair, Department of Clinical Immunology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University
Professor Emerita, University of Miami, School of Medicine
n for her research and clinical efforts in multi-symptom disorders, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), War Illness (GWI), Fibromyalgia, and other Neuro Immune Disorders. She is immediate past president of the International Association for CFS and ME (IACFS/ME), a professional organization of clinicians and investigators, and is also a member of the VA Research Advisory Committee for GWI, the NIH P2P CFS Committee, and the Institute of Medicine ME/CFS Review Panel. Dr. Klimas has advised three Secretaries of Health and Human Services, including Kathleen Sabelius, during her repeated service on the Health and Human Services CFS Advisory Committee. Dr. Klimas has been featured on Good Morning America, in USA Today and the New York Times.

Professor Maureen Hanson

USA

Maureen Hanson is Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Previously she was on the faculty of the Department of Biology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, where she also completed her Ph.D. degree. While most of her prior research has concerned cell and molecular biology in plant cells, she began a research program on ME/CFS after noting at a 2007 IACFS meeting the paucity of molecular biologists studying the illness. Her lab was part of the 2012 multicenter study organised by Ian Lipkin's group at Columbia University to assess the actual role of XMRV in ME/CFS. Dr. Hanson has a current project to examine the microbiome of ME/CFS patients and controls, in collaboration with Dr. Ruth Ley (Cornell Microbiology) and Susan Levine, M.D. (Manhattan, NY). Dr Levine is also collaborating with Dr. Hanson on an immune cell gene expression project that involves Dr. Fabien Campagne and Dr. Rita Shaknovich at Weill Cornell Medical School in New York City. Dr. Hanson's third project concerns analysis of blood samples from individuals performing a two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test at Ithaca College under the supervision of Dr. Betsy Keller.

Australia

Chris Armstrong, PhD, performs research using metabolomics to observe biochemical alterations in ME patients. He began his work in this field at the University of Melbourne, beginning a PhD project to apply metabolomics to study myalgic encephalomyelitis and published his first ME/CFS metabolomics study on blood and urine in 2015. Chris also worked with IiMER-funded PhD Fane Mensah at UCL.

Since then Chris has set up collaborative efforts to apply metabolomics to immunological experiments on ME, observing how metabolism may relate to immune cell function. He has also focused on longitudinal research in ME while looking to extend metabolic capabilities across the field of ME to help collate different patient groups.

Chris has presented at the #BRMEC11 colloquium in 2021.

Other Links

• Chris Armstrong ResearchGate
• Chris Armstrong Research Profile
• PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED BY CHRISTOPHER W ARMSTRONG
• PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED BY CHRISTOPHER W ARMSTRONG

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Dr Vicky Whittemore

USA

Dr. Whittemore is a Program Director in the Synapses, Channels and Neural Circuits Cluster. Her interest is in understanding the underlying mechanisms of the epilepsies including the study of genetic and animal models of the epilepsies.

The major goal is to identify effective treatments for the epilepsies and to develop preventions. Dr. Whittemore received a Ph.D. in anatomy from the University of Minnesota, followed by post-doctoral work at the University of California, Irvine, and a Fogarty Fellowship at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

She was on the faculty of the University of Miami School of Medicine in The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis prior to working with several non-profit organizations including the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance, Genetic Alliance, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), and the National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics (NCHPEG).

She also completed a four-year term on the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council.

Other Links

• ResearchGate

Linda van Campen

Netherlands

C. (Linda) M.C. van Campen is a cardiologist involved in clinical research and clinical care of adolescents and adults with ME since 2009. She has been practicing cardiology since 1999 and has focused on clinical care and research for patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis since 2009.

Dr. van Campen has contributed significantly to the understanding of ME, particularly in relation to orthostatic intolerance, cerebral blood flow, and cardiac function. Linda van Campen has made several notable contributions to the field of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis research, particularly in understanding the physiological abnormalities associated with the condition. Van Campen's research has consistently demonstrated that ME patients experience a significant reduction in cerebral blood flow during orthostatic stress, such as tilt table testing, even in the absence of hypotension or tachycardia. This highlights a key physiological dysfunction in ME patients. She has extensively studied orthostatic intolerance (OI), a hallmark symptom of ME/CFS, and its relationship to cardiac function. Her work has identified abnormalities such as reduced stroke volume index (SVI) and cardiac index (CI) during tilt testing in ME/CFS patients. Van Campen also explored the phenomenon of orthostatic chronotropic incompetence—an impaired heart rate response to standing—in ME/CFS patients, further elucidating the cardiovascular challenges faced by this population. In collaboration with others, van Campen has documented cognitive declines following orthostatic stress in ME patients, linking reduced cerebral blood flow to impairments in cognitive function. This research underscores the systemic impact of OI on brain health. Her work has drawn parallels between ME and long COVID, particularly in shared symptoms like orthostatic intolerance and reduced cerebral blood flow. This research has helped bridge understanding between these two conditions. She has authored numerous studies exploring these topics, including:

• The effects of tilt table testing on ME/CFS patients
• The role of compression stockings in improving cardiac output and cerebral blood flow
• The impact of long-haul COVID-19 on orthostatic intolerance compared to ME

Dr. van Campen's research includes:

• Studies on the abnormal cardiac and cerebral blood flow responses in ME patients
• Investigations into therapeutic interventions such as compression stockings and vitamin B12 treatments for ME
• Clinic

Stichting CardioZorg specialises in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular complications in ME patients, as well as conducting related clinical research.

• ResearchGate Linda van Campen

Artur Fedorowski

Sweden

Dr Artur Fedorowski is a leading cardiologist and researcher specialising in cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, syncope and orthostatic intolerance.

He is a Professor of Cardiology at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and a Senior Consultant as well as Head of the Syncope and Dysautonomia Unit at Karolinska University Hospital. He holds an MD and PhD from Wrocław Medical University in Poland, where he also completed specialist training in internal medicine and cardiology. Additionally, he pursued postdoctoral research in cardiovascular medicine at Lund University, Sweden, where he has served as an Associate Professor since 2013.

Dr Fedorowski's research focuses on cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, syncope mechanisms (including reflex syncope and orthostatic hypotension), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and autoimmune cardiovascular diseases. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to multiple books in these fields. His work has been recognised internationally, including his membership in expert groups such as the European Society of Cardiology's Task Force for Syncope Guidelines and the NIH Expert Group on POTS. Dr Fedorowski is also an associate editor for several prestigious journals and a reviewer for approximately 60 medical publications.

References

• https://ki.se/en/people/artur-fedorowski
• https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCEP.121.010573
• https://insidescientific.com/profile/artur-fedorowski/
• https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2020.00021/full
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23216860/

Peter Novak

USA

Dr Peter Novak is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. He serves as the Chief of the Division of Autonomic Neurology and Director of the Autonomic Laboratory. Dr Novak is a board-certified neurologist and autonomic specialist with expertise in autoimmune and small fiber neuropathies, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and multiple system atrophy.

After graduating from medical school in Bratislava, Slovakia, Dr Novak completed his neurology residency at Ohio State University and pursued postdoctoral studies in cardiovascular and autonomic research at several institutions, including Charles University, University of Montreal, McGill University, and Mayo Clinic.

Dr Novak has made significant contributions to the field of autonomic neurology, including the identification of two new syndromes related to orthostatic intolerance. His research has led to improved diagnostic capabilities for patients previously thought to have psychiatric illnesses or who lacked a clear diagnosis. He has authored over 70 scientific papers.

In 2021, Dr Novak received the BRIght Futures Prize for his innovative project "Using Smartphone Pictures to Diagnose Nerve Damage," which aims to improve the accessibility of testing for small fiber neuropathy.

Further Information:

• https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=voVnlAgAAAAJ&hl=en
• https://www.brighamandwomens.org/neurology/autonomic-neurology/about-autonomic-neurology
• https://www.brighamandwomensfaulkner.org/about-bwfh/news/expanded-autonomic-testing-helps-to-pinpoint-cases-of-orthostatic-intolerance

Mette Olufsen

USA

Professor in the Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.
Primary research interests include bio-mathematics, mathematical modeling, and combining models with actual data.
Professor Olufsen's interest is in studying dynamics of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and inflammatory systems using fluid dynamics and system level models.
She has a PhD degree in applied and industrial mathematics and a MS degree in mathematics and computer science from Roskilde University, Denmark.
Mette S. Olufsen is a professor in the Department of Mathematics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. She specialises in mathematical biology, with a focus on cardiovascular physiology, inverse problems, parameter estimation, and differential equations.
Dr. Olufsen earned her PhD in applied and industrial mathematics and her MS in mathematics and computer science from Roskilde University, Denmark. She joined North Carolina State University as an assistant professor in 2001 after spending three years in Boston.
Her primary research interests include bio-mathematics, mathematical modeling, and combining models with actual data. She is particularly interested in studying the dynamics of cardiovascular, respiratory, and inflammatory systems using fluid dynamics and system-level models.
Professor Olufsen has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to numerous books in her field. Her current work focuses on patient-specific modeling of cardiovascular and inflammatory dynamics, as well as sensitivity analysis and parameter inference.
Throughout her career, Dr. Olufsen has collaborated with researchers across disciplines and has been recognised for her contributions to mathematical biology and physiological modeling. Her expertise in developing mathematical models to understand complex biological systems has made her a respected figure in the field of applied mathematics and computational biology.

Further Information:

• https://olufsen.wordpress.ncsu.edu
• https://scholar.google.com.hk/citations?user=-cpfVloAAAAJ&hl=zh-CN&newwindow=1

Douglas D. Fraser

Canada

Professor Fraser, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, holds a position as Professor and Clinician Scientist in Paediatric Critical Care/Trauma Medicine at Western University in London, Ontario.
He completed his MD/PhD in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Calgary, Alberta, receiving a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategic Training Fellowship and several esteemed International Research Awards from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Pediatric Research.
As Director of the Translational Research Centre, a human tissue biobank operating for over 15 years, Professor Fraser has garnered multiple Research Innovation Awards and successfully filed numerous patents. He is also a Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of NeuroLytixs, Inc., a diagnostics-based biotech company.
Professor Fraser's research focuses on identifying signalling pathways and diagnostics/prognostic biomarkers for acquired brain injury, severe sepsis and COVID-19. His work includes profiling Long-COVID patients for proteome changes, with particular emphasis on understanding the immune response.
Currently, he leads two International Multicentred Long-COVID Research Programmes: "LC-Optimize" (Identification of Long-COVID Sub-Phenotypes to Optimise Patient Outcomes) and "LC-Statistic" (Sudden Death Associated with Post-COVID Condition).

James Baraniuk

USA

James Baraniuk, MD, is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington, DC[1][2]. He is also the Director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at Georgetown University[2]. Dr. Baraniuk received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada, in 1981[3]. He completed his internship at St. Thomas Hospital in 1982 and his residency at Duke University Medical Center[3]. Professor Baraniuk's research interests include Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Mucosal Inflammation[5]. He has published extensively in these areas, with over 100 publications to his name[6]. His work focuses on understanding complex chronic conditions and their underlying mechanisms. At Georgetown University, Dr. Baraniuk leads research projects and clinical trials related to chronic pain and fatigue disorders[7]. He is recognised for his contributions to the field of medicine, particularly in the areas of migraine and chronic fatigue syndrome[4]. Throughout his career, Dr. Baraniuk has been cited by numerous researchers in his field, demonstrating the impact and relevance of his work in medical research[6][8]. His expertise spans various aspects of chronic illnesses, making him a respected figure in the medical community.

References:

• [1] https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/00336000014RcpuAAC/james-baraniuk
• [2] https://me-pedia.org/wiki/James_Baraniuk
• [3] https://www.medstarhealth.org/education/fellowship-programs/rheumatology-georgetown-fellowship/faculty/baraniuk_james
• [4] https://migraineworldsummit.com/expert/james-baraniuk-md/
• [5] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1nkHbZ4AAAAJ&hl=en
• [6] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Baraniuk
• [7] https://faculty.georgetown.edu/baraniuj/Site/2006-495.html
• [8] https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Baraniuk/4

Muzlifah Haniffa

USA

Professor Muzlifah Haniffa is a distinguished dermatologist and immunologist, currently serving as the Interim Head of Cellular Genetics and Senior Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Born in Penang, Malaysia, she moved to the UK in the 1990s to pursue her medical education, graduating from the University of Wales College of Medicine in 1999[1].
Prof Haniffa's groundbreaking research focuses on applying single-cell genomics technologies to understand tissue homeostasis, immunity, and disease pathogenesis. She is a key figure in the Human Cell Atlas initiative, where she contributes significantly to decoding the development and functional maturation of the human immune system. Her work has led to important discoveries in kidney cancer research and placental biology, among other areas.
Throughout her career, Prof Haniffa has received numerous accolades, including the Foulkes Foundation Medal in 2019 and election to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020. She is also a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science and a Professor of Dermatology and Immunology at Newcastle University. Prof Haniffa is known for her passion for mentoring and promoting diversity in science, actively contributing to various initiatives to support the next generation of researchers.

Further Information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzlifah_Haniffa
• https://www.sanger.ac.uk/group/haniffa-group
• https://www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk/people/affiliates/haniffa

Aurelien Dugourd

USA

Aurelien Dugourd graduated from Heidelberg Medical University with a Computational Biology masters degree in 2015. He joined Julio Saez-Rodriguez'' team at the JRC COMBINE lab in Aachen as a PhD student and worked on the development of an hybrid mechanistic model, integrating gene regulation, signaling pathways and metabolomics data to explain disease phenotypes, help find new therapeutic targets and predict their potential effect based on a specific patient profile. This project was part of the collaborative SyMBioSys ITN project, financed by the European Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions.
He is currently a senior post-doc/Staff Scientist leading the development and application of methods to extract interpretable mechanistic insights from multi-omic datasets. The focus is on leveraging prior knowledge, in the context of signaling and metabolism of complex diseases, such as cancer and development of treatment resistance.
He works in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners, to support the development of novel cancer treatments and better understand the development of resistances by bringing those methods closer to relevant industrial applications.

The goal of the Saez-Rodriguez group is to acquire a functional understanding of the deregulation of cellular networks in disease and to apply this knowledge to develop novel therapeutics. The group focuses on cancer, auto-immune and fibrotic disease.
Towards this goal, they integrate big (‘Omics’) data with mechanistic molecular knowledge into statistical and machine learning methods, and share tools as free open-source packages.

Further Information:

• Publications
• Saez-Rodriguez Group, EMBL-EBI

Anna Niarakis

France

Dr Anna Niarakis is a Full Professor of Computational Systems Biology at the University of Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier, affiliated with the Center of Integrative Biology and the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Dynamics. She holds a 4-year delegation for research at INRIA- Saclay, in the group Lifeware.
Dr Niarakis has a broad scientific background in Biochemistry, Biology, Pharmaceutical Technology and post-doctoral studies in Computational Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (ENS, Paris, Institut Gustave Roussy) with expertise in complex human diseases, especially autoimmune diseases.
She is a co-leader of the Disease Maps consortium coordinating the COVID-19 Disease Map initiative, and she also leads the Working Group “ Building Immune Digital Twins”, supported by the Research Data Alliance.
Dr Niarakis has significant expertise in academic teaching and mentoring, course design and management and is also very active in organizing and participating in international summer and winter schools of Computational Systems Biology.
She is the main co-organizer and the leading instructor of the Wellcome Trust Advanced Course "Computational Systems Biology for Complex Human Disease: From Static to Dynamic Representations of Disease Mechanisms" :
Courtesy https://cbi-toulouse.fr/eng/equipe-niarakis

Further Information:

• Computational Systems Biology Team

Christian Puta

Germany

After completing a diploma in sports science with a focus on prevention and rehabilitation, he received his doctorate in 2007 at the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
In 2017, the same faculty awarded the venia legendi for sports medicine and health promotion. The dissertation and the habilitation were awarded the DOSB Science Prize, the third prize and the second prize. As a post-doc he spent a month at the Uit The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø.
In 2023 I received an adjunct Professor of Sports Medicine and Health Promotion at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
He is currently a member of the scientific advisory board of the Federal Institute of Sport Science (since 2018) and university director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Prevention of Occupational Diseases of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (since 2019).
Since 2023 he has been a member of the Center of Sepsis Control and Care (CSCC) at the University Hospital Jena.
Since 2024 he has been affiliated at the Department for Internal Medicine IV (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases), Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.

Further Information:

• ResearchGate

Stuart Bevan

UK

Professor Stuart Bevan is Professor of Pharmacology at the Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases.
From 1997 to 2005, he was Head of the Chronic Pain Unit for Novartis based in the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research laboratories on the UCL campus.

Further Information:

• Professor Stuart Bevan
• Researchgate

Marton Olbei

UK

Martin Ilbei is a Computational biologist postdoc in Tamas Korcsmaros' group at Imperial College London. He works on systems biology approaches aimed at understanding how cytokines can influence each other, and how we can apply this knowledge to Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Further Information:

• ResearchGate

Dr David Systrom

USA

Dr. David M. Systrom is a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is also an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
He received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School (now known as Geisel School of Medicine).

Dr Marte Viken

Department of Medical Genetics, Oslo University Hospital, Norway
European ME Research Group

See https://www.ous-research.no/home/lie/Group+members/6638

Dr Anne Bertolotti

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK

Dr. Bertolotti is a world-renowned expert in protein homeostasis, cellular stress responses, and proteasomal degradation mechanisms.

Dr. Bertolotti specialises in how cells detect and respond to misfolded proteins and chronic stress—a process that, if disrupted, could play a role in neurological and immune dysfunction in ME/CFS. Her work on selective inhibition of phosphatases that regulate protein folding stress responses could provide insights into whether similar pathways are dysregulated in ME/CFS patients.

Anne Bertolotti is a renowned French biochemist and cell biologist serving as the Programme Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) in Cambridge, UK. In 2022, she was appointed Head of the MRC LMB's Neurobiology Division. Her research focuses on understanding and enhancing cellular defence mechanisms against misfolded proteins, which are a hallmark of various neurological diseases.

Dr Bertolotti's academic journey began with dual Bachelor of Science degrees in biochemistry and plant physiology, followed by a Master of Science degree in cell and molecular biology from the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg, France. She earned her PhD from the same university for her discovery of hTAFII68 (now TAF15) while working with Laszlo Tora and Pierre Chambon at the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC). Her post-doctoral research at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, NYU Medical Center, under David Ron, led to significant discoveries in the mammalian unfolded protein response.

In 2001, Dr Bertolotti became an Inserm Associate Professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, and later joined the MRC LMB as a group leader in 2006. Her lab has made groundbreaking contributions to the field, including the discovery of Sephin1, an inhibitor that has shown promise in Phase 1 clinical trials for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Her innovative research aims to boost stress signalling pathways to increase cellular resilience and protect against neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr Bertolotti's work has been widely recognised, earning her the Hooke Medal from the British Society for Cell Biology in 2014 for her contributions to understanding abnormal protein folding. She was also elected an EMBO Young Investigator in 2005 and an EMBO member in 2013. Her lab continues to focus on fundamental cell biological processes with the goal of translating these discoveries into benefits for human health.

See https://www.ous-research.no/home/lie/Group+members/6638

Professor Alain Moreau

University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre, Canada

Since October 2000, Dr. Moreau has been Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Musculoskeletal Diseases/malformations.
His team is interested in the molecular genetics of musculoskeletal diseases in children (scoliosis) and adults (osteoarthritis). Their work mainly focuses on musculoskeletal diseases that affect children (congenital malformations, bone and cartilage tumours), adolescents (idiopathic scoliosis) and adults (osteoarthritis and joint cartilage degeneration). In addition, his team studies the molecular mechanisms involved in the inflammation and regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues. Dr. Moreau is an active member of the Bone and Periodontium Research Center (a consortium of researchers working in the field of bone) set up by McGill University, the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research and the Scoliosis Society of Quebec. He is also the thematic leader of the Molecular Biology and Genetics Axis of the Scoliosis Quebec Network.

See Research

Dr Olli Polo

Integrativ Clinic, Stockholm, Sweden

See ResearchGate Olli Polo

Professor Ronald Davis

Integrativ Clinic, Stockholm, Sweden Professor of Biochemistry and Genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine in Stanford, California, USA

Ronald W. Davis, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biochemistry and Genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine in Stanford, California.

He is a world leader in the development of biotechnology, especially the development of recombinant DNA and genomic methodologies and their application to biological systems.

At Stanford University, where he is Director of the Stanford Genome Technology Center, Dr. Davis focuses on the interface of nano-fabricated solid state devices and biological systems.

He and his research team also develop novel technologies for the genetic, genomic, and molecular analysis of a wide range of model organisms as well as humans.

The team's focus on practical application of these technologies is setting the standard for clinical genomics.

Other Links

• Stanford Genome Technology Center
• Ron Davis named one of today's greatest inventors
• The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research Center (CFSRC)

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