On September 4, 2019, the NANDSC Working Group for ME/CFS Research report was presented by Stephen Roberds, PhD, the Chair of the ME/CFS Working Group, to the National Advisory Council (NANDSC), which must approve all NINDS grants, initiatives and projects. The report, which details the need for an ME/CFS research strategy, was put together by the ME/CFS Working Group, which is comprised of 15 members, the majority of whom are experts in the ME/CFS field. The Council then voted to approve the report, showing their unanimous agreement that a lack of knowledge exists regarding the underlying biological mechanisms of ME/CFS, and a strategic research approach is needed.

The approval of the report will give the Trans-NIH Working Group for ME/CFS access to new resources at the NIH. In an article about the report on Health Rising, Cost Johnson says, “While the approval of the ME/CFS report provides no new funding for ME/CFS, it may very well provide the necessary next step for a major increase in funding. That next step is an NIH-produced strategic plan which clearly states the process the NIH should take to fill the numerous needs in this field.  NANDSC’s approval of the report legitimized the many needs facing ME/CFS and gave Vicky Whittemore and the Trans-NIH Working Group access to the resources at the NIH needed to produce the strategic plan.”

To read the NANDSC Working Group for ME/CFS Research report, click here. 
To watch the video of the NANDSC meeting, click here. 
To read more about what the report means on Health Rising, click here.