The Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) is a US-based charity that funds research into the illnesses

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),

fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a functional somatic syndrome with symptoms of widespread chronic pain, accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbance including awakening unrefreshed, and Cognitive deficit, cognitive symptoms. Other symptoms can include he ...

, post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, and

long COVID Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

History

The OMF was founded in 2012 by Linda Tannenbaum after her daughter became ill with ME/CFS in 2006. Tannenbaum has said, "For a long time, the medical world didn’t feel ME/CFS was a real disease," and advocates for increased federal research funding. In 2018, the OMF received a donation of $5 million in

Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...

from the anonymous founder of the Pineapple Fund.

Activities

The OMF provides funding for seven collaborative research centers, including one center at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, one at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, one at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, as well as locations in Australia and Sweden. Research is mainly funded by patients and families. Research has included investigations into T-cells and immunological genes, analyses of muscle and other tissues, a study on families of patients, an attempt to develop a nanoneedle-based blood test for ME/CFS, studies on the density and deformability of blood cells compared to healthy controls, work on mitochondrial function, and investigation of potential altered metabolism in people with ME/CFS. One project involved a whole-genome mapping of 20 severe ME/CFS patients. Plans to fund multicenter trials of treatments have also been announced. Along with the Bateman Horne Center, the OMF maintains the Medical Education Resource Center, a website to educate doctors on diagnosis and treatment of complex chronic illnesses. OMF maintains a

patient registry Disease or patient registries are collections of secondary data related to patients with a specific diagnosis, condition, or procedure, and they play an important role in post marketing surveillance of pharmaceuticals. Registries are different from ...

(StudyME) to help researcher find participants for their studies.

Leadership

Linda Tannenbaum is CEO and president, while geneticist Ron Davis heads the scientific advisory board.

References

{{Chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome Health charities in the United States Scientific organizations established in 2012 Medical and health organizations based in California Long COVID