35
COM Outlook . Winter 2015
NSU-COM Receives $1.95 Million
Grant to Investigate CFS /ME
Mary Ann Fletcher, Ph.D.
(pictured
right)
, who serves as the Schemel Pro-
fessor for NSU-COM’s Institute for
Neuro-Immune Medicine, and her re-
search team recently were awarded a
$1.95 million grant from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH)/National
Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke to study complex biomark-
ers of chronic fatigue syndrome/
myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/
ME) in men.
Dr. Fletcher and her teamwill com-
bine the findings from this 100 percent
federally funded four-year studywith
data the team previously compiled
from its other sponsored programs
in Gulf War Illness, a related neuro-
immune disorder. Grants for these
four studies total nearly $10 million
and have been funded by the U.S.
Department of Defense, U.S. Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, and theNIH.
“Our goal is to pin down precisely
what are the differences betweenmen
and women facing these diseases and
to developmore effective and specific
treatment plans using existing drugs
that are currently being used to treat
other related conditions and symp-
toms,” Dr. Fletcher said.
According to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control (CDC), CFS/ME is a
“debilitating complex disorder char-
acterized by profound fatigue that is
not improved by bed rest and that
may be worsened by physical or men-
tal activity. Symptoms affect several
body systems andmay include weak-
ness, muscle pain, impaired memory
and/or mental concentration, and
insomnia, which can result in reduced
participation in daily activities.”
CFS/ME occurs most often in
people who are in their 40s and 50s,
but it can arise at any age according
to the CDC. The disease affects more
than one million Americans and is
four times more likely to occur in
women than in men. Many experts
believe a significant number of cases
go undiagnosed and the actual num-
ber of Americans with the disease is
much higher.
Since flare-ups of the disease often
occur during physical activity, the
newgrant will involve a cross-section-
al study that investigates biological
indicators in patients before, during,
and after an exercise protocol. These
indicators, also known as biomarkers,
will allow the institute’s researchers
to target the root causes of the disease
using computational biology models.
The NSU-COM Institute for Neu-
ro-Immune Medicine’s research con-
sortium consists of Dr. Fletcher and
the following individuals:
Nancy Klimas, M.D.
, director
of the Institute for Neuro-Immune
Medicine, chair of department of
clinical immunology, and professor
of medicine.
Mariana Morris, Ph.D.
, professor
and director of the institute’s pre-
clinical research laboratory.
Gordon Broderick, Ph.D.
, director
of the institute’s Clinical Systems Biol-
ogy Group and professor at the NSU
Center for Psychological Studies and
College of Pharmacy.
Travis Craddock, Ph.D.
, associ-
ate director of the institute’s Clinical
Systems Biology Group and assistant
professor at the NSU Center for
Psychological Studies and NSU’s
Graduate School of Computer and
Information Sciences.
Additionally, the team is affiliated
with the research service of the Bruce
W. Carter Department of Veterans
AffairsMedical Center andMiami VA
Healthcare System.
National Institutes of Health Award
Will Fund Study of the Disease in Men
RESEARCH/SCHOLARY ACTIVITY - Faculty and Student Achievements
