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2025 Annual Meeting Overlooked: Less Studied Pathologies across ME/CFS, Long COVID, and Related Illnesses |
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Sunday, October 26, 2025 |
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Guest Speaker: Beth Pollack, Research Scientist, |
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Beth Pollack will explore and discuss aspects of ME/CFS, Long COVID, and co-occurring conditions that profoundly impact patients yet remain under-researched and frequently overlooked. She will provide an overview of the current research landscape and findings, share insights from emerging research at MIT, and highlight new collaborative projects with her colleagues that are advancing our understanding of these topics. Focus areas include common comorbid conditions; hypermobility and connective tissue damage; spinal pathologies; environmental sensitivities; reproductive conditions, and more. Her talk will synthesize what is currently known, identify critical gaps in understanding, and illuminate next steps and opportunities for more comprehensive research that can inform clinical care.
Bio: Beth Pollack, Research Scientist, MIT Beth Pollack is a Research Scientist in the Department of Biological Engineering in the Tal Research Group at MIT, where she leads research on ME/CFS and the overlaps among infection-associated chronic illnesses. Her work focuses on understudied pathologies that significantly impact patients, with the goal of accelerating knowledge, clinical research, and treatments. She is currently a collaborator on four clinical studies on infection-associated chronic illnesses, and also serves on two NIH RECOVER working groups focused on Long COVID therapeutics and clinical trial design.
Beth was chair of the NIH ME/CFS Research Roadmap subgroup on Less Studied Pathologies, was previously a senior researcher at Harvard, and in 2024 was named a United States Leader by the Obama Foundation. Committed to increasing understanding and awareness of chronic illness, she has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, NPR, and other publications. |
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Event Fee: |
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MassME MEmbers: This event is free to all MassME members. If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact us at membership@massmecfs.org. |
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Non Members: The suggested event fee is $10.00. Please contribute what you can. All proceeds support MassME’s programs and services. A contribution of $40 or more will also give you a year’s membership in our organization. |
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Wellness Workshop |
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Each session features a different theme or activity followed by reflection, processing, and sharing.
*Due to professional guidelines, you must be a MA resident to attend.
The group meets monthly on Zoom, Tuesdays from 2:00pm - 3:30pm ET.
Registration is ongoing, join at any time.
October 14 |
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New England Meet Up Group
This group is for our younger Gen Z and Millennials to gather together and support each other.
*Due to professional guidelines, you must be a resident of MA, ME, NH, VT, RI, or CT to attend.
The group meets monthly on Zoom, Thursdays from 2:00pm - 3:30pm ET.
New members are always welcome!
October 23 |
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The last Sunday Conversation event of 2025 is Sunday, November 15 at 4 p.m. ET. We will have small group discussions focusing on various aspects of Disability. Stay tuned for details!
Help us plan for 2026!
The Sunday Conversations team welcomes new members Let us know if you are interested or have any questions. We'll follow up with more information.
Previously recorded presentations, slides, and other resources from past events are available on the main Sunday Conversations Page. |
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Solve Webinar on the Unified Platform, Tuesday 10/14, 6:00 PM (ET) |
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Join Solve M.E. for a webinar about the Unified Platform: Advancing Research Across ME/CFS, Long Covid, and Other Chronic Conditions, a new effort that allows patients to submit data through symptom surveys, validated assessments, wearable devices, and health history to support research.
Register here or visit unhide: Solve Together to learn more.
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Renegade Research Clinician's Roundtable, Friday October 17, 2:00 PM (ET) |
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Join Renegade Research for a Clinician's Roundtable on microdosing GLP1/GIP in ME/CFS, Long COVID and MCAS. Register here.
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The IACFS/ME Conference October 22-25 |
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The International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (IACFS/ME) is hosting their scientific research conference online from October 22-25.
The conference is aimed at clinicians, researchers, and educators, although anyone affected by or interested in ME/CFS, Long COVID, or other infection associated chronic conditions is welcome to attend. Learn more here.
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Virtual Conference on ME/CFS: ICanCME2025 November 4 to 6 |
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The Canadian ME/CFS research network, ICanCME, is organizing a free and online conference from Tuesday November 4 to Thursday November 6 from 1:00 to 5:00 PM (ET) each day. Topics include the current state of research, the impact of comorbidities on research, and thinking about research design. The full schedule and a registration link can be found here.
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LIFT (Life Improvement Trial) Clinical Trial at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) |
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Dr. David Systrom at BWH, with support from the Open Medicine Foundation, is conducting a clinical trial on the effectiveness of low dose naltrexone (LDN) and/or pyridostigmine (Mestinon) for improving the quality of life for people with ME/CFS.
You may be eligible to participate if you live within 100 miles of Boston, are between the ages of 18 and 70, had the onset of symptoms before 2023, and have a smartphone. The trial will take about 3 months and involves 3 visits to BWH for testing, 4 virtual visits and using a wearable activity tracking device. Compensation of $300 is available. More details here. Contact jsquires1@bwh.harvard.edu if you are interested in participating.
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Two Online Symptom Surveys for Dr. Lenny Jason |
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Dr. Leonard Jason, a dedicated and long-time researcher of ME/CFs and Long COVID, is asking those with ME/CFS, their families, healthcare providers, and researchers to participate in an online survey of cardinal symptoms and perspectives on case definitions. Dr. Jason and his team hope that the results of the survey will shed light on areas of contention, in hopes of finding a consensus. The survey takes about 10-15 minutes. More information and access to the survey can be found here.
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A second survey from Dr. Jason is part of a research study focused on Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM). Your responses will help evaluate the validity and reliability of a new survey tool designed to assess PEM symptoms. The survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Participation is entirely voluntary and anonymous. Additional information is provided on the first page of the survey. You can access the survey here. |
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MAESTRO Study Seeking Participants |
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The Tal Research Group at MIT — headed by Dr. Mikki Tal and home of our Annual Meeting's guest speaker, Beth Pollack — is conducting the largest clinical study in MIT's history. The MAESTRO study aims to increase our understanding of the base causes of chronic infectious illness. The study is ongoing, and they are still seeking participants who have Long COVID, acute or chronic Lyme disease, and healthy controls.
If you are interested in participating in this study, you can find more information here.
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RTHM Launches New Platform for Infection Associated Chronic Illnesses |
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RTHM is a virtual healthcare provider for people with complex illnesses. They have launched a new platform for infection associated chronic illneses. It collects your health information and then uses artificial intelligence to suggest patterns and possible treatments. Health data is kept private and encrypted and can be deleted at any time. Use of the platform is free. Note: MassME is not endorsing this service but it might provide useful information. |
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Honoring our Friend, Dr. Alfred DeMaria |
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This month a celebration was held at the Massachusetts Department of Health Jamaica Plain location to mark the renaming of the site as the Dr. Alfred DeMaria Jr. Campus.
Al DeMaria has been a pillar of our state’s public health and infectious disease community, and this honor recognizes his commitment to a broad array of emerging infectious diseases like AIDS/HIV, Lyme Disease, and ME/CFS over forty years. MassME joins Al’s colleagues, legislators, and friends in congratulating him on this recognition of his service.
Al has been a staunch supporter of MassME over many years, and a personal friend of our first President, Bonnie Gorman. In 2018, Al helped MassME to organize, and then hosted, the first awareness-raising event for ME/CFS ever held by a state’s department of public health. The event was moderated by Rivka Solomon with guest speakers Jen Brea and Ron Davis.
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Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association is a 501c3 non-profit registered in the state of Massachusetts. |
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Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM AssociationPO Box 690305Quincy, MA 02269
617-471-5559 contact@MassMECFS.org |
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© ::Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association::. All Rights Reserved |
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