Quadram Institute Bioscience today welcomes the announcement that a consortium led by the European ME Research Group (EMERG) has secured funding from the EU Horizon programme to support a major pan-European research project focused on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, sometimes referred to as ME/CFS). This award represents a significant advance in coordinated international biomedical research into ME following more than a decade of collaborative infrastructure development across Europe.

The EU Horizon-funded project will bring together researchers, clinicians and patient partners from more than 20 institutions across Europe and Canada to drive large-scale mechanistic studies into ME. It aims to develop the biological evidence and mechanism-based disease classification for the improved diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ME.

The research is led by Professor Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber at the Medical University of Vienna, with Quadram Institute Bioscience Professor Simon Carding from the Quadram Institute and University of East Anglia as co-lead.

This initiative builds directly on long-standing European research networks, including the European ME Research Group (EMERG), in which the Quadram Institute plays a key role. These networks have grown out of regular international collaborations fostered through annual biomedical colloquia and research meetings organised by UK charity Invest in ME Research.

The newly funded project will use standardised clinical and laboratory methods across multiple European biobanks and research sites, helping to identify and validate biomarkers across genetic, immune, metabolic, neuroendocrine and vascular domains. The outputs are expected to underpin future biomarker-guided clinical trials and precision approaches to drug repurposing and therapeutic development.

“With DISCOVER-ME, we aim to systematically map the biological basis of the ME and translate this into a clinically applicable concept,” said Prof. Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber, Project Lead, Medical University of Vienna. “Our goal is to be able to offer patients a confirmed diagnosis at an earlier stage in future, along with treatment options tailored to their individual disease mechanisms.”

Patient and public involvement is embedded in the research design, ensuring lived experience informs phenotyping tools, stratification frameworks, policy recommendations and other outputs. This inclusive approach aims to produce research findings that are directly relevant to patients, clinicians and health systems.

Professor Prof. Simon Carding, Co-Lead and Quadram Institute research group leader said: “This EU Horizon grant is a very welcome milestone in ME research and will for the first time provide the support needed to develop collaborative multidisciplinary research across Europe for the benefit of patients.”

The EU Horizon award aligns with broader efforts to integrate ME research into mainstream European biomedical research frameworks, strengthening collaborative capacity across national and disciplinary boundaries.

Kathleen McCall, Chair of Invest in ME Research, commented:
“This achievement is the culmination of twenty years of foundational work. By building the infrastructure of EMERG, Young EMERG for early-career researchers and the European ME Alliance (EMEA) for patients, and by funding the professional consultancy with our friends from Luna Nova to secure this grant, we and our supporters have helped pave the way for ME research to finally be resourced at the level it requires. This is a validation of our support for a ‘centre of excellence and European collaboration’ strategy, connecting the UK foundation in Norwich with the best of European science.”

The European Commission’s decision to fund the EMERG consortium following an excellent evaluation marks a landmark and long-awaited breakthrough for myalgic encephalomyelitis research. Securing Horizon Europe support through rigorous peer review demonstrates that research into ME now stands firmly within the highest tier of European scientific excellence.

As part of its collaborative programme, the consortium convened during International ME Conference Week in May 2026, hosted at the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge, UK. The meeting will provided an opportunity for investigators to coordinate workstreams, review progress and engage with the wider biomedical research community attending the conference week.

The Quadram Institute remains committed to its long-term strategy of advancing rigorous biomedical research into ME in partnership with international collaborators, and to facilitating the translation of research insights into clinical impact.

The project is funded under the European Union Horizon programme