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Action for M.E. announce a second ground-breaking PhD

June 17, 2022

Action for M.E. is delighted to announce a second ground-breaking PhD, this time in conjunction with the University of Oxford.

This comes shortly after announcing our jointly funded collaborative initiative with King’s College London (KCL)

Our second PhD has been part-funded by Action for M.E., with the other 50% raised through crowdfunding, and will be hosted by the University of Oxford. The Principal Investigator is Dr Karl Morten, Director of Graduate Studies, who will be supported by a student to explore the role for the microbiome and leaky gut as a symptom of M.E./CFS and other conditions associated with chronic disease.

The key focus of this research is to not only understand more about the biology of M.E./CFS but also to open the exploration of more treatment options. If a leaky gut is a key component of M.E./CFS, then restoring a normal gut microbiome balance with normal approaches, such as Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT), could be a life-changing treatment option.

As well as contributing to a better understanding of M.E./CFS, this project may help identify new directions for treating the disease, and, ultimately, explore a cure.

Sonya Chowdhury, Chief Executive of Action for M.E. said:

Both these PhDs at Oxford, and our collaboration with KCL, will act as a stimulus to bring top researchers into the M.E./CFS field. By working with others to increase funding for high-quality research, by more researchers, we hope to move towards effective treatments for M.E.”