Posted by Cort Johnson And if you see some negative papers coming out, don’t be discouraged. It’s going to happen. There are going to be some negative papers. People really jump to do this. And the method is not that easy and getting the right bits and pieces you need together (is not easy)” Dr. Nancy Klimas The Brits Smack XMRV…Or
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2009 In Review
Posted by Cort Johnson EVENTS Biggest Event – what else? XMRV takes the spotlight as no research finding has before, retrovirologists across the world clamor for samples, worry mounts about a tainted blood supply, Hilary Johnson blows into the New York Times Op Ed section, and patients gasp and cross their fingers in hopes that it will all work out. See XMRV
ContinueA Dark Vision
Posted by Cort Johnson Hilary Johnson, beloved CDC headhunter is raking the CFIDS Association over the coals again. Once again she’s taking no prisoners. In her last blog on the CAA she called the organization the Bechtel of the CFS community and accused them of inciting a ‘pogrom’. In this blog she proclaims CAA is the CDC and vice versa .
ContinuePhoenix Rising Researcher of the Year Pt. 1
Posted by Cort Johnson The Researcher of the Year analysis doesn’t just take research into account; it also includes their outreach into the patient community and their impact on how the research field is functioning. This year the Researcher of the Year was an easy choice. Dr. Vernon excelled in all three categories in 2008. (As she did in 2009.
ContinueResearcher of the Year (08) Part II: A Bold Commitment Plus XMRV and the CAA
Posted by Cort Johnson A Bold Effort Collaboration – Dr. Vernon believes increased collaboration will be essential for our research community’s success. She knows the power collaboration can unleash. The Pharmacogenomics projects she lead at the CDC – which ended up thrusting ME/CFS into the research spotlight and helped triggered the National Press Conference – was the result of a
ContinueXMRV in the Spotlight
Posted by Cort Johnson XMRV was next up at the mike at the CFSAC meeting. First Dr. Peterson went over the published research one more time. Hearing it again simply reinforced what an extraordinary discovery XMRV may be. His presentation was, in some ways, though, really just a prelude to Dr. Coffin’s presentation. The co-author of the major text in
Continue“Solving CFS’ and Stepping Into The Digital Age
Posted by Cort Johnson The CFID’s is coming of age in the digital age. SolveCFS, a new website, is a nice step forward for the CFID’s Association. If you haven’t looked the CFID’s Association has been on a roll lately. Check these projects of the past few years: A sucessfull research initiative They hired a well known researcher, Suzanne Vernon,
ContinueCFSAC Nominations in Play
Posted by Cort Johnson The CFSAC is the federal advisory committee on chronic fatigue syndrome. It advises the Secretary of Health on the federal response to ME/CFS including research, treatment and disability. Among the agencies it interacts with are the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and the Social Security Administration. FIve slots are open, one of
ContinueGood Morning America Gets It Right!
Posted by Cort Johnson Its nice to see chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) well represented on the national stage. Dr. Donnica Moore was comfortable and poised on Good Morning America as she clearly enunciated many of the major aspects of ME/CFS. Early on she focused on post-exertional malaise – something we really need to get across. The inevitable depression question didn’t
ContinueCDC Grows MORE Isolated
Posted by Cort Johnson It’s seems that the CDC has figured this disease out. How else to explain their absence at the 3-day CAA/NIH sponsored brainstorming session recently held at Cold Harbor (“From Infection to Neurometabolism: a Nexus for CFS”). Thirty researchers from across the US and Canada were there but not one showed up from the biggest CFS team-
ContinueLooking Back – At the CFID’s Association
Posted by Cort Johnson John Herd’s recent post on the past and future of ME/CFS advocacy provided a welcome change in tone from many of the strident posts we’ve seen lately and provided much room for thought. An important part of the post, however, was more of the same; while the post’s tone was mild the post itself too often
ContinueHeadhunter On the Prowl
Posted by Cort Johnson Hachet Woman – Hilary Johnson is doing what she does so well-she’s taking heads. She’s never been about ‘support’, she was an investigative journalist after all. Her metier has always been holding up a bogeyman and then cutting it’s head off. Born with a golden pen her darting, evocative and often voluptuous prose engulfed a community
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