CureME (leading research into ME) blog post: Biobank users
Samples from our Biobank are available to external researchers around the globe. Making these samples available to other researchers increases the chances of achieving much-needed breakthroughs in the aetiology and treatment of ME/CFS, in the most cost-effective manner.
Here are our current collaborators, and their stories:
Professor Duncan Baird is a geneticist with an interest in telomere biology and genome stability, based at Cardiff University. Telomeres are the structures that cap the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. Due to a quirk in the way that DNA is replicated, as cells divide and as we age, telomeres become progressively shorter, ultimately obtaining a length at which they become dysfunctional and trigger the cells to enter a non-dividing state called replicative senescence. Telomeres therefore provide a limit on the number of times cells can divide.
This project hopes to provide an in-depth understanding of cellular ageing of immune cells in patients with ME/CFS and whether this may impact on the pathology of this condition. Providing an understanding of these processes and the technologies to monitor them may in turn lead to prognostic tools and potential therapeutic interventions.
The samples released to Professor Baird were distributed free of charge, as one of the two awardees from the UKMEB’s Christmas Appeal 2017/18, to enable priority research to happen without cost being a barrier. Thank you to everyone who donated.
