One response I have received from my email to Columbia University:
Thank you for sharing with us you concerns about these important matters. I can assure you that the conference committee and I received your email and are taking what you expressed to us very seriously.
As a clinician and researcher, I am aware that Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) brings severe suffering to millions of people around the world, and truly hope that biomedical research will help find cures for this condition. I also want to share that the Organizing Committee of the 4th Psychosomatics Conference and the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry affirm our support for the ME/CFS community and state unequivocally that we agree that ME/CFS is a serious multi-system disease associated with neurological, immunological, and energy metabolism impairment. We also support our colleagues at Columbia University’s Center of Infection and Immunity who are using the latest precision-medicine approaches to study the underlying pathophysiology for ME/CFS, with the goal of developing new treatments.
The 4th annual Psychosomatics Conference hosted by the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Irving Medical Center will not focus on ME/CFS. This conference will address how multidisciplinary approaches in medicine can help patients with persistent somatic symptoms by bringing together clinical researchers with expertise in brain-body interaction in the fields of psychosomatic medicine, gastroenterology, cardiology, and neuropsychiatry.
Unfortunately, we are unable to answer emails about this matter on an individual basis and to, therefore, address in detail all the points you have raised.
I am hopeful that recent biomedical research initiatives will move the field forward and lead to the development of new treatments for ME/CFS.
Sincerely,
Alla Landa
___________________________
Alla Landa, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry
Director, Columbia Psychosomatics Conference
Columbia University Medical Center
1051 Riverside Dr, New York NY 10032