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The Ronald G. Tompkins
Harvard ME/CFS Collaboration

at the Harvard Affiliated Hospitals

Clinical and scientific studies to understand and discover new treatments for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Long COVID, and related Multisystem, Chronic Complex Diseases (msCCD).

About the research center

David Systrom and Wen Xiao together

Established in 2018, this research initiative is based at Harvard affiliated hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). 

Including the faculty of the Harvard affiliated hospitals, critical collaborations are represented from Stanford University, Cornell University, University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, Uppsala University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 

This collaborative research center was launched by Ronald G. Tompkins, MD, ScD, and Wenzhong Xiao, PhD.

In early 2022, David Systrom, MD joined Wenzhong Xiao as a Co-Director after Ronald G. Tompkins’ sudden passing.

This research collaboration seeks to understand and discover new treatments for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Long COVID, and related Multisystem, Chronic Complex Diseases (msCCD).

Active/Ongoing Studies

The Life Improvement Trial

The Life Improvement Trial (LIFT) aims to investigate two drugs, separately and in combination, Pyridostigmine (commonly known as Mestinon) and Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN), for efficacy and to research the difference between responders and non-responders.

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Sleep Disturbance in ME/CFS

We intend to examine multiple sleep studies that have been conducted in the past two years and performed at the MGH Neurology Sleep Medicine Laboratory in well characterized patients with ME/CFS.

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Scientific Team

Older and younger women researchers looking right

Massachusetts General Hospital

In Memoriam – Ronald Tompkins, MD, ScD

Wenzhong Xiao, PhD

Donna Felsenstein, MD

Amel Karaa, MD

Andrew Alexander, MBA

Peng Li, PhD

Karen Buch, MD

Brigham & Womens Hospital

David Systrom, MD

Anthony Komaroff, MD

BI Deaconess Medical Center

Janet Mullington, PhD

Boston University

Lewis Kazis, ScD

Mary Slavin, PhD

Pengsheng Ni, PhD

Bill Rogers, PhD

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Richard Smith, PhD

John Jacob, PhD

Wei-Jun Qian, PhD

Chiari Neurosurgical Center

Paolo Bologenese, MD

Ilene Ruhoy, MD

Center For Healing Neurology

David Kaufman, MD

University of Nottingham, UK

Philip Atherton, PhD

Paul Greenhaff, PhD

Daniel Wilkinson, PhD

Mathew Piasecki, PhD

University of Birmingham, UK

Janet Lord, PhD

Cornell University

Maureen Hanson, PhD

Open Medicine Foundation

Linda Tannenbaum

Chris Armstrong, PhD

Stanford University

Ronald Davis, PhD

Uppsala University, Sweden

Jonas Bergquist, MD, PhD

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Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS) Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), Fibromyalgia Leading Research. Delivering Hope.Open Medicine Foundation®

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