In January 2026, another scholarship project jointly funded by the Lost Voices Foundation (external link) and the ME/CFS Research Foundation will start at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
At the International ME/CFS Conference 2025 (link), the foundations agreed to cooperate in supporting junior ME/CFS researchers. The ME/CFS Research Foundation is providing the funding for this. The scholarship funding will be administered through the Lost Voices Foundation's scholarship programme.
The joint scholarship will be awarded to Linus Fock, who is pursuing his doctorate as part of his medical studies at the working group of Prof. Dr. Carmen Scheibenbogen (details in the ME/CFS Research Register) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Linus Fock's doctoral project is entitled "Comparative study of healthy control subjects and patients with ME/CFS using questionnaires, hand grip strength measurement, cognitive testing and laboratory markers".
Project background and objectives:
Biomarker studies on ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) have provided a number of important insights on potential disease mechanisms in recent years. In the majority of examined ME/CFS patients, there was evidence of immune dysregulation indicated by the presence of inflammatory markers, while some of the subjects showed autoantibodies and altered immune cell profiles. In addition, disturbances in mitochondrial metabolism and blood circulation were detected.
Well-characterised patient and control cohorts (healthy control groups) are of central importance for biomedical research projects. Only by comparisson with carefully defined healthy controls can disease-specific changes be clearly identified, scientifically sound conclusions be drawn, and diagnostic markers be developed. The aim of the doctoral project is to establish and analyse a cohort of 100 healthy subjects for subsequent comparison with ME/CFS patients.
As part of the funded project, data on health status (medical history, self-reported information), epidemiological data and questionnaires for symptom assessment will be collected from healthy subjects in the same way as for the ME/CFS cohort. This will also include clinical examinations (hand strength, cognitive testing using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), blood pressure and pulse measurement while sitting and standing, and laboratory analyses of standard parameters and immunological markers).
The project will start on 1 January 2026 and aims to establish a standardised control cohort of healthy adults over a period of six months. The project results will be published in a scientific publication, which will contribute to the validation and further development of biomarkers for ME/CFS.
Integration into ongoing biomarker research
The data collected from the healthy control cohort will be incorporated into the work of the following research projects, which are being implemented with the participation of Prof. Dr. Scheibenbogen's research group:
- Immune Mechanisms of ME (IMMME):
Sub-project: Characterisation of the function of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) autoantibodies as part of the second phase of the joint project (duration 10/2025–09/2027). Details on the first funding phase of IMMME can be found in ME/CFS Research Register - Characterisation of autoimmune responses for the identification of targets in ME/CFS (CURE-ME):
Sub-project: Characterisation of EBV cross-reactive autoantibodies and B cells (duration 01/2025 – 12/2027, details in the ME/CFS Research Register) - Investigations into vascular dysfunction and reduced perfusion in patients with ME/CFS (VADYS-ME):
Sub-project: Analysis of biomarkers for reduced blood flow (duration 01/2025 – 12/2027, details in the ME/CFS Research Register)
Why do we fund this project?
The project to establish a healthy adult control cohort at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin complements our funding of the "HeLP" project to establish a healthy control cohort for children and adolescents at the Munich Chronic Fatigue Centre for Young People (MCFC) at the Technical University of Munich (see project announcement). Both projects meet the objectives defined in our funding strategy (link). There is currently no public funding available for generating comparative data using healthy control subjects.
The ME/CFS Research Foundation and the Lost Voices Foundation also jointly fund another scholarship project since January 2024 at the research group of Prof. Dr. Carmen Scheibenbogen. The project by Annick Fehrer is titled "cell morphology, cell deformability and microclots in ME/CFS" (see project announcement).
How can you support the work of the ME/CFS Research Foundation?
While progress has been made, there is still a long way to go before diagnosis, care and treatment of ME/CFS patients will one day become an established medical and social standard. We at the ME/CFS Research Foundation are focussing on biomedical research, which we see as a key element in solving these problems (more on this in our research funding strategy and in our half year report summer 2025, which summarises our activities). To achieve this, we rely on broad support from private donors – those affected, relatives, families, friends, associations, schools, networks, companies, initiatives, event organisers and all supporters. If you are not able to provide direct support, you can share our stories and motivate others to help. Because only together can we achieve. this goal.
We fully translate donations and other support into scientifically excellent research, networking and ultimately visible successes, i.e. better ME/CFS diagnostics and therapies. We are happy to work together with other organisations and initiatives - please contact us!
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