David Tuller is a journalist and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

lecturer at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

Center for Global Public Health. He spent his early career covering

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

, then pivoted to

ME/CFS Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

Career

His career in public health began with

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

advocacy in the 1980s. He is also the author of ''Cracks in the Iron Closet: Travels in Gay and Lesbian Russia'', a 1997 book on

LGBT history LGBTQ history dates back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love, diverse gender identities, and sexualities in ancient civilizations, involving the history of lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LG ...

and life in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

based on Tuller's travels and interviews with LGBT Russians. Currently, he is a senior fellow in public health and journalism at a

crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...

position at Berkeley. Before it was widely accepted as such, he advocated for the acceptance of

myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

(ME/CFS) as a biological condition. In 2015, he published "Trial by Error," a four-part article criticizing the design of the

PACE trial The PACE trial was a large and controversial trial which compared the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), graded exercise therapy (GET), adaptive pacing therapy, and specialist medical care for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chr ...

, a controversial study that claimed CBT and

graded exercise therapy Graded exercise therapy (GET) is a programme of physical activity that starts very slowly and gradually increases over time, intended as a treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Most public health bodies, inclu ...

were effective treatments for ME/CFS, and alleging conflicts of interest among the trial's investigators. Proponents of the controversial psychosomatic model, many of which were behind the PACE trial, accused their critics of harassment. Tuller disputed that his work encouraged this, saying his activities follow academic standards. Later, the claims of harassment were found to be “wildly exaggerated” by a tribunal judge.

Publications

* ''Cracks in the Iron Closet: Travels in Gay and Lesbian Russia'' (1996, Faber and Faber, ) * (2017, Journal of Health Psychology) * (2019, Health Psychology Open) * (2022, Occupational Medicine)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuller, David ME/CFS activists 21st-century American journalists American online journalists American medical journalists American science journalists University of California, Berkeley fellows Writers on LGBTQ topics 1950s births Living people