Article: The Stars Begin to Align at the NIH: A CFS Review Panel. For CFS!

You can view the page at http://www.forums.aboutmecfs.org/content.php?263-The-Stars-Begin-to-Align-at-the-NIH-A-CFS-Review-Panel-For-CFS

 

Good things going on for you there Cort - not a "sausage" here. Keep up the good work (if able). We are well on the move now. Amen.

 

hey Willow thanks for all the info
I remember wondering about yohimbe must have been after reading Biaggioni's research

 

Biaggioni really looks interesting. I had no idea he was looking at Rituximab as well - perhaps a hot item for CFS.

Now for the bad news! Pat Sonnett informed me that that wonderful panel only had 7 grants to review! - a number Dr Klimas called 'pitiful'. They only meet three or four times a year.....probably three - that's 21 grants attempted a year - they've got to do better!

That is the other half of the equation; CFS researchers have to apply as well.....Hopefully Dr. Freidberg has spread the word in at the IACFS/ME that the panel is open for business.

 

Here's some info on Dennis Mangan - the CFS Working Group leader at the NIH

Dr. Dennis F. Mangan recently joined the Office of Research on Women’s Health as a senior research advisor working on the analysis and evaluation of research projects supported by ORWH.
He is no stranger to NIH, however. As an assistant professor at the University of Rochester, Mangan led a program in oral microbiology and immunology prior to engaging in advanced research in molecular biology in the lab of Dr. Sharon Wahl in the NIDCR intramural program. He studied the role of programmed cell death in monocyte/macrophage homeostasis. Between 1992 and 2006, he worked in the NIDCR extramural program as a program director in various infectious disease research programs. In 1994, he created one of the first email listservs at NIH to keep the investigators in his portfolio apprised of new programs, funding opportunities and technical assistance in preparing grant applications. Many at NIH remember that he was a passionate advocate for the creation of a Human Microbiome project (now a Roadmap initiative) and research on the beneficial effects of bacteria on humans.
Mangan left NIH in 2006 to become associate dean for research at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, where he helped faculty and students enhance their research programs and increase funding opportunities from government, industry and foundation sources. He has returned to NIH to join ORWH’s 20th anniversary initiative to identify the most promising areas of research that will advance women’s health and the study of sex and gender differences in medicine over the coming decade.
Mangan has a Ph.D. in microbiology from West Virginia University and postdoctoral training in cellular immunology at the University of Michigan. When not at work, he enjoys golf, hiking and training dogs.

 

I wonder if the TMJ researchers are clenching their jaws in frustration about no more dentists on their grant review panel.
I guess it shows that TMJ used to be considered a more serious problem than fibromyalgia and CFS.
Thank goodness it's finally time for CFS to be seen as important.

 

I'll bet they are. It makes me wonder, actually, if they are doing subpanels or something like that....

 

what is TMJ caused by? doesn't it occur in high instances in FM and ME/CFS? so it should have a strong biomolecular or neurological component, yes? I don't think it's much related to bruxism or anything like that, normally... so I think it should actually be studied by the cell biology people. It would be nice to have one medical (not psychological) dentist, however, for the TMJ.

Why are there no neurologists? ME/CFS is officially classified as a neurological condition and neurology is vastly under-represented in research. There are a few important studies, but not much recent. Do we think it should be changed to immunological/infectious/rhematological/autoimmune, or do we need to lobby for neurologists?

Fibromyalgia is a neurological condition as well.

Let's replace Fillingim and Jones with a dentist and a neurologist, hey?

 

Biaggioni really looks interesting. I had no idea he was looking at Rituximab as well - perhaps a hot item for CFS.

Now for the bad news! Pat Sonnett informed me that that wonderful panel only had 7 grants to review! - a number Dr Klimas called 'pitiful'. They only meet three or four times a year.....probably three - that's 21 grants attempted a year - they've got to do better!

That is the other half of the equation; CFS researchers have to apply as well.....Hopefully Dr. Freidberg has spread the word in at the IACFS/ME that the panel is open for business.

That is bad news. I wonder if those who have the time and energy could email the contact authors from their favorite studies and say something like,

Thanks so much for your important contribution to the understanding of ME/CFS. You might already be aware of this but just wanted to make sure you knew about the new makeup of the NIH Special Emphasis Panel for ME/CFS grants, which now has many biomedical researchers. Word is that funds have increased as well, and that applications are low, so now appears to be a good time to apply for a follow-up study if you had anything like that in mind. Thanks again!

If anyone does this, please report here so researchers aren't getting multiple emails.

 

hey Willow thanks for all the info

my pleasure

 

Here's some info on Dennis Mangan - the CFS Working Group leader at the NIH

thanks for the info! I hope by gender differences in medicine he's including gender bias which is still a large problem in medicine. A microbiologist/immunologist/molecular biologist studying apoptosis in immunology does sound well poised to understand the complexities of ME/CFS.

 

what is TMJ caused by? doesn't it occur in high instances in FM and ME/CFS? so it should have a strong biomolecular or neurological component, yes? I don't think it's much related to bruxism or anything like that, normally... so I think it should actually be studied by the cell biology people. It would be nice to have one medical (not psychological) dentist, however, for the TMJ.

Why are there no neurologists? ME/CFS is officially classified as a neurological condition and neurology is vastly under-represented in research. There are a few important studies, but not much recent. Do we think it should be changed to immunological/infectious/rhematological/autoimmune, or do we need to lobby for neurologists?

Fibromyalgia is a neurological condition as well.

Let's replace Fillingim and Jones with a dentist and a neurologist, hey?

Yes, higher rates than normal of TMJ in CFS and I'm all for the switch

 

I asked Dr. Freidberg (IACFS/ME President about how to increase grant application rates. This was his reply on the CFS SEP in general

The recent review panel with all the CFS/ME experts is an improvement. I think there may be a somewhat better chance now to get funded to do CFS/ME projects, although in this funding environment, it is still quite difficult--only about 1/10 NIH grant apps. are funded. The app. has to be really compelling and well-designed. Given that the review committee membership can be quite changeable, we have to continually monitor committee membership over the next rounds to see if they still contain a lot of CFS/ME experts.

 

Another view

We can also look at it another way. How do you change the view of individuals who are preset? Shut them out? Or do you include them so they hear the correct viewpoints? Maybe this is an opportunity to have more direct influence.

Tina

For the record, I'd like to change my mind and agree with Tina. Not necessarily that Jones should be on the panel, but that no one, no matter how much he's hardened his mind, is beyond the reach of truth. Everyone is capable of change.

 

...no one, no matter how much he's hardened his mind, is beyond the reach of truth. Everyone is capable of change.

I wish I could believe that.