OMF 2019 Year in Review

[Ben H]

Hi guys,


Dear friends,

We realize that you take your philanthropy seriously, and we are honored by your belief in our mission and our efforts to end ME/CFS. The accomplishments contained in the following, OMF 2019 Year in Review, are only possible because of you; your investment in our work and your dedication to our shared vision of a world free from ME/CFS. We are grateful beyond words...

OMF 2019 Year in Review
Organizational Accomplishments​

We Welcomed:

• New SAB members: Alain Moreau, PhD and Michael Snyder, PhD
• New Chief Medical Officer: Ronald Tompkins, MD, ScD
• New VP of Philanthropy: Kathleen Morgen
• New Ambassadors: Karin Alvtegen and Jaqueline Ko

We also:

• Launched a new ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Uppsala University in Sweden
• Sponsored two productive scientific symposia at Stanford and Harvard
• Sponsored two Community symposia
• Provided free live streaming at Stanford Community symposium
• Funded high-level research on multiple projects
• Established OMF Canada
• Assembled Harvard-affiliated Clinicians to explore new collaborations
  among specialists

ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center Updates
Your 2019 contribution funded open and collaborative research across the globe, conducted with impeccable standards and integrity,
by researchers and clinicians of the highest caliber.
​

Stanford University

Collaborative Research Center
Directed by Ronald W. Davis, PhD,
Professor of Biochemistry and Genetics

Open Medicine Foundation has been the lead funding partner of Dr. Davis’s ME/CFS research team at Stanford University since 2014.

2019 Research Focus:

• Nanoneedle technology development
• Technology to detect Red Blood Cell Deformability
• Tryptophan Metabolic Trap
• Trace heavy metal detection
• Developement of a new test to expand the number of pathogens detectable in cell free DNA/RNA
• Direct DNA sequencing of genes possibly connected to ME/CFS

2019 Publications Include:

• Published a research paper on the Nanoneedle (https://www.pnas.org/content/116/21/10250)
• Published a research paper on the Metabolic Trap Hypothesis (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31357483)
• Published a research paper on Red Blood Cell Deformability (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6398549/)

Please visit our website for more information about projects at the Stanford CRC
2019 End of Year Message from Ronald W. Davis, PhD, and Janet L. Dafoe, PhD


Harvard Affiliated Hospitals
Collaborative Research Center

Co-Directed by Ronald G. Tompkins, MD, ScD
Sumner M. Redstone Professor of Surgery,
Harvard Medical School Founding Director

Co-Directed by Wenzhong Xiao, PhD
Assistant professor of
Bioinformatics and Director of the Inflammation & Metabolism Computational Center at Massachusetts General Hospital


In 2018, OMF launched a funding partnership with Harvard affiliated hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

This research collaboration seeks to conduct clinical and basic science studies to characterize the dynamic biological changes that occur during a change in symptom expression of ME/CFS patients
Projects launched in 2019 include:

• BWH iCPET biorepository plasma proteomic and metabolomic studies
• PASS/CAT diagnostic tool development
• Symposiums Science and Community

Please visit our website for more information about projects at the Harvard CRC


Uppsala University, Sweden
Collaborative Research Center

Directed by Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD
Full Chair Professor in Analytical Chemistry and Neurochemistry

In 2019, OMF funded and launched the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Uppsala University under the direction of Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD.

This new Collaborative Center focuses on the targeted molecular diagnosis of ME/CFS with the goal of evidence-based strategies for interventions.

Current projects include:

• • Kynurenine studies in ME/CFS
  • Autoimmunity aspects of ME/CFS
  • Endocrine hormone disturbances in ME/CFS

Please visit our website for more information about projects at the Uppsala CRC
​

We are proud to have been recognized in 2019 by Great Nonprofits,
and to have received Platinum level recognition from GuideStar
for our commitment to organizational transparency.




Please visit our website at Open Medicine Foundation
We look forward to 2020 with Hope for All
​

B

 

[Ben H]

Quite a lot happened last year to way the least, and still progressing


B

 

[raghav]

Have you started testing FDA approved drugs on the 100 chips produced by Rahim Esfandyarpour (Hope I got his name right ) (Nanoneedle chips) ? Any promising results ?

 

[*GG*]

Quite a lot happened last year to way the least, and still progressing


B

What does this mean? "to way the least, "

GG

 

[overtheedge]

Hey @Ben H Does OMF have an Amazon Smile set up? I've been using Amazon to support another charity for most of the last decade but thinking about it now OMF's more important so if you know if they have one tell me if you would and I'll go figure out how to change it

 

[Ben H]

What does this mean? "to way the least, "

GG

Its meant to say 'to say the least...', typo on my end!


B

 

[Ben H]

Hey @Ben H Does OMF have an Amazon Smile set up? I've been using Amazon to support another charity for most of the last decade but thinking about it now OMF's more important so if you know if they have one tell me if you would and I'll go figure out how to change it

Hi overthedge,

Yes, OMF has amazon smile set up for US, I believe Canada too. It may be set up in Europe also but havn't checked that, I'll find out. It isn't in the UK.


B

 

[Ben H]

Have you started testing FDA approved drugs on the 100 chips produced by Rahim Esfandyarpour (Hope I got his name right ) (Nanoneedle chips) ? Any promising results ?

Hi Raghav,

I'm only a volunteer/correspondent but yes, I believe some FDA approved drugs have been tested. I'll look back through my notes.


B

 

[raghav]

Hi Raghav,

I'm only a volunteer/correspondent but yes, I believe some FDA approved drugs have been tested. I'll look back through my notes.


B

Thanks @Ben H If I remember correctly Ron Davis said each chip can be used to test 100 drugs. So that is 100 X 100 and OMF at Stanford has already stocked 10000 FDA approved drugs. I hope by now Ron Davis has got the test setup ready to test en masse in batches of 100. I know that is easier said than done because I dont know whether you have got the interfacing circuit with the Nanoneedle chip ready. Hopefully Rahim would have thought through on that aspect. If Ron or somebody else can throw some light on that it will be helpful. Because this can give actionable results in the immediate near future.

 

[overtheedge]

Hi overthedge,

Yes, OMF has amazon smile set up for US, I believe Canada too. It may be set up in Europe also but havn't checked that, I'll find out. It isn't in the UK.


B

Awesome, thanks much