International Early Careers Workshops
Thinking the Future for ME
- a Network for Young ME Researchers
The Thinking the Future conferences are research meetings organised by the charity to encourage
biomedical research into ME and international collaboration amongst young and early career researchers.
This has been a major objective of the charity.
An international family of researchers working together has been facilitated by the Invest in ME Research BRMEC* Biomedical Research
into ME Colloquiums held annually in London, UK.
To ensure that a foundation of biomedical research into ME can be sustained and to encourage
new ideas from new areas then we cannot rely just on this family of researchers that has been built up from all parts of the world.
We need to draw in knowledge and expertise from other areas – as we have been doing for many years with our
research Colloquiums and international Conferences.
Importantly, we also need to encourage early career researchers – and young researchers.
As part of the EMERG (European ME Research Group) concept - which aims to build a network of close European biomedical research collaboration to make rapid advances in research and funding for ME - in 2018 the charity initiated the young/early career researcher conference - Thinking the Future - an initiative to build an international network of new and young research capacity for the future.
We continued this into 2019, in collaboration with the USA National Institutes of Health (NIH), to produce TtF events in Washington DC and London.
Participation
An Early Careers Researcher is defined an individual who is within a few years of the award of their PhD or equivalent professional training, or their first academic appointment.
These events are open to postgraduate students and postdocs involved in biomedical research, and also medical students with an interest in biomedical research into ME.
They provide an international forum where research into ME can be discussed, ideas can be generated and a network built to allow opportunities for those young or early career researchers who are already involved in research into ME, or involved in another research area which may be of relevance to understanding ME.
All applications for participation will be considered by the committee responsible for planning the agenda, which will include existing young researchers.
For those wishing to present please use the contact form below to contact us and arrange for abstracts/ideas to be sent for consideration for the conference.
Future Young/Early Career Researchers Conferences
This international event will be in keeping with the emphasis we have placed on international cooperation.
As well as working with the NIH to turn this into an international network with events being held in other countries we are also working with our colleagues in the European ME Alliance (EMEA) to create a broader network across the continent. which will, in turn, facilitate further international collaboration in research into ME and encourage new ideas to be formulated.
It will, importantly, also give more awareness of the exciting possibilities of researching this disease – for the betterment of people with ME and their carers.
We welcome all support for this and hope that more early career researchers and research departments will begin to appreciate the interesting and challenging opportunities that exist for biomedical researchers entering this field.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the plans for future Thinking the Future conferences for young/early career researchers have been affected. We hope to continue to build on the foundations laid already by IiMER and NIH to bring in new faces and new ideas to the field of ME research as well as provide a forum for networking for existing young/ecr researchers.
Following the successful 2018 inaugural conference in London and the full day conferences held in Washington in April 2019 and in London in ME Conference Week in May 2019, the 2020 conference will allow young investigators to bring new ideas into this field of research.
We aim to continue to provide this event for free for accepted participants who join this network.
Past TtF Conferences
Thinking the Future 1 London, 2018
29th May 2018
The first Young/ECRConference took place in London on 29th May 2018.
The conference aimed to increase international collaboration in research into ME by initiating a new network for young/ECR researchers.
Representation came from six countries and included experienced researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, Uppsala in Sweden, Columbia and Tufts in USA. The USA National Institutes of Health (NIH) was also represented.
TtF Conference Agenda 2018
Chair: Professor Jonas Blomberg, Uppsala University, Sweden
Professor Jonas Blomberg, Uppsala University, Sweden
University of Tromsø, Norway
Quadram Institute Bioscience, UK
Quadram Institute Bioscience, UK
University of Bergen, Norway
Charité, Berlin, Germany
Charité, Berlin, Germany
Catholic University of Valencia, Spain
Catholic University of Valencia, Spain
Rosen Group, Linköping University, Sweden
Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark
Montoya Group, Stanford, USA
Professor Jonas Blomberg
TtF Participants and Researchers
Agenda
Copy of the TtF2019UK Agenda
TtF London 2019 Conference Agenda
| Time | Topic | Speaker | Organisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Registration | with Refreshments . | . |
| 09:00 |
Welcome to TtF London
Thinking the Future – Pep Talk |
Dr Ian Gibson | UEA, UK |
| Passing the Baton - Input from Washington TtF2 meeting | Dr Vicky Whittemore | NIH, USA | |
|
Experiences of Young/ECR Investigators - What We Learnt
Experiences, pitfalls, ideas and general thoughts on ME research - from PhDs who have been there |
Daniel Vipond
Chris Armstrong |
Quadram Institute Bioscience, UK
Stanford, USA |
|
| Funding opportunities - TtF Group Discussion | TtF | Group Discussion | |
| 10:30 | Coffee Break | Refreshments | |
| Involvement of mast cells and microglia in ME/CFS and beneficial effect of flavonoids | Eirini Tsilioni | Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA | |
| Neuroinflammation and Cytokines in ME/CFS | Paulita Lara Mejia | Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA | |
| Preliminary data characterizing neural and autonomic mechanisms of post-exertional malaise in myalgic encephalomyelitis | Sydney Brumfield | Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA | |
| TtF Group Discussion | TtF Group | Thinking about the Future – Group discussion | |
| 12:30 | Lunch | ||
| Immunocellular bioenergetics in Danish females with chronic fatigue syndrome | Paula Fernandez Guerra | Aalborg University , Denmark | |
| Altered immune metabolism in ME/CFS | Alexandra Mandarano | Cornell University, USA | |
| Metabolic profiling in patients with ME/CFS | Ina Katrine Nitschke Pettersen | University of Bergen, Norway | |
| Searching for blood factors changed in ME/CFS | Fredrik Hoel | University of Bergen, Norway | |
| Autoimmune diagnosis of ME/CFS | Anne Sophie Schou | Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark | |
| Genetic predisposition for ME/CFS: a pilot study | Melanie Perez | Nova Southeastern University, USA | |
| 15:30 | Coffee Break | Refreshments | . |
| Immunogenetics of ME | Riad Hajdarevic | University of Oslo, Norway | |
| Epigenetic components of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) uncover potential transposable element activation | Tamara Ovejero Martinez | Universidad Católica de Valencia, Spain | |
| Immune reactivity to enteric microbes in ME/CFS patients | Katharine Seton | Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, UK | |
| An Update on FMT in ME/CFS – an RCT at University of Tromsø | Linn Skjevling | University of Tromsø, Norway | |
| TtF Round table discussion | TtF Group and Moderators |
| |
| 17:30 | Adjourn | . | . |
| 18:15 | TtF Dinner | With researchers from next days’ BRMEC9 Colloquium | . |
TtF3 Comments
Apply to Participate in Thinking the Future
Use the contact form below to apply to participate and to provide details of your research and why you wish to participate.
All applications will be considered by the committee responsible for planning the agenda.
Contact Us
Get in Touch
Please use the form here to submit an application to attend the Thinking the Future for ME conference.
You can also use this form if you have any questions regarding the this event
All submissions will receive a response and all applications will be considered by the committee responsible for planning the agenda.
Thank you for your interest in the conference.
The Office
- Address: Invest in ME Research
PO Box 561 Eastleigh SO50 0GQ Hampshire, UK - Phone: 02380 643736 / 07759 349743
- Email:
- Conference:
- Centre of Excellence for ME:
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Last Update January 2021