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e are very pleased to share that Dr Christopher Armstrong and his team at Open Medicine Foundation’s (OMF’s) Melbourne ME/CFS Collaboration have been awarded nearly $1 million ($999,977.50) through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) Stream 1 grant, for the project Energy inefficiency in Long COVID and ME/CFS.
Importantly, this funding is a direct response to the Australian Government’s Long COVID Inquiry, Sick and tired: casting a long shadow. While the inquiry committed $50 million to Long COVID research, Recommendation 8 specifically called for dedicated investment in ME/CFS research, which has historically received limited Australian government funding despite now affecting an estimated 930,000 Australians.
In 2024, OMF Australia, in collaboration with Emerge Australia, advocated for this recommendation at a Canberra Roundtable. This MRFF grant answers that call, in a very important way.
Brief Summary
This study investigates why some people do not return back to good health and instead remain severely ill, fatigued, unable to return to work or school due to a multitude of life-altering symptoms long after COVID-19 or other infections.
Known as PASC and ME/CFS, these conditions are difficult to diagnose and treat. The research examines how infection can affect energy production and the body’s response to physical stress by measuring blood flow, metabolism, and cellular health.
Wearable devices and low-burden, at-home sampling will track recovery after exertion. The aim is to identify the biological factors that help explain both the wide variation in patient experience and the symptoms these conditions share.
Led by Dr Chris Armstrong, the project brings together Australian and international collaborators across the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, Monash University, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, and global partners including PrecisionLife.
OMF Australia is part of OMF’s global collaborative network with six research centres worldwide with the mission to find effective treatments and a cure for ME/CFS and PASC (Long COVID).
We will share updates as the study progresses.