Tag Archives: accountability

Bottom of the Ramp

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

In aggregate, 2017 turned out to be the biggest year of ME/CFS funding at NIH ever. But when I scratched the surface, I found bad news buried within the superficially good news. We are still at the bottom of the … Continue reading →

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FINALLY: RFA Funding Announced

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

This post was last updated on September 30, 2017. Edits are clearly indicated in the text. At long last, NIH has announced the awards of RFA funding to three Collaborative Research Centers and a Data Management and Coordinating Center for … Continue reading →

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CDC Website Update

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

In this guest post, Mary Dimmock summarizes the latest updates to CDC’s ME/CFS website. In early July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) replaced its website for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), previously called chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and now … Continue reading →

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Those CDC Documents

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

Last month, I wrote about CDC wanting to charge me over $200 for documents I had requested under the Freedom of Information Act. I was looking for information on how much CDC had spent on the Institute of Medicine (now … Continue reading →

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Grant Review

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

Disclosure: I participated in the preparation of one of the Collaborative Research Center applications. Today and tomorrow, the applications for ME/CFS Collaborative Research Centers and Data Coordinating Center are undergoing peer review at NIH. It’s a very important stage in … Continue reading →

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NIH Attitudes Affect Policy: A Story In Two Parts

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

The current situation for ME research at NIH is still a problem, despite the fact that the RFAs will increase spending on ME by a significant percentage. I say this based on two things: what the ME field needs to … Continue reading →

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CFSAC: Second Verse, Same as the First

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

Another CFS Advisory Committee meeting is upon us. The webinar meeting will be held on June 29th and 30th. And as has been the case in the past, the federal approach to the Committee appears lackadaisical. This bare minimum effort … Continue reading →

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PACE-Gate: Continue Tuller’s Work

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

Journalist David Tuller is well-known to the ME community. His series Trial By Error on Virology blog launched PACE-Gate into the scientific mainstream. Since that series began, Tuller has also written about the devastating effects of PACE-style “treatments,” garnered support … Continue reading →

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The Halfway Point

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

We are halfway through fiscal year 2017. How much money has NIH spent on ME/CFS research so far this year, and where will we end up? The short version is: based on current spending, we are unlikely to hit the … Continue reading →

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RFA Ticker, 2/20/17

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Jennie Spotila

Following an excellent suggestion from J.A. on last week’s post, I have added a line to the table of cumulative RFA numbers. This line will track the RFA dollars committed to ME/CFS. I don’t expect it to change this year. … Continue reading →

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