My ME Research UK grant played no small part in developing and validating experimental protocols and bioinformatic pipelines that underpin studies proposed in DISCOVER-ME. Thank you and ME Research UK again for supporting our ME/CFS research.
Prof Simon Carding – €7.5million EU Horizon award for DISCOVER ME.
European researchers have secured major Horizon Europe funding for a new international project focused on ME/CFS – DISCOVER – ME (Biological evidence and mechanism-based disease classification for the improved diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ME/CFS). The project brings together biomedical researchers, clinicians and patient-focused organisations to improve understanding of this complex, disabling illness and support progress towards better diagnosis, care and future treatment research.
The Horizon Europe-funded project is designed to support large-scale collaboration across countries, helping researchers use shared methods, generate stronger evidence and build the foundations for future work on diagnostics, therapeutics and prevention strategies and is part of a wider European effort to address high-burden, under-researched medical conditions.
The funding of €7,588,595,00 will support a co-ordinated biomedical research programme rather than one isolated study. Research groups across Europe will work to common standards, share knowledge and generate evidence that can be compared across countries.
The research will be led by Professors Eva Untersmayr-Elsenhuber (Medical University of Vienna) and Simon Carding (Quadram Institute Bioscience and University of East Anglia). ME Research UK with the financial support of the Fred and Joan Davies Bequest has funded aspects of Prof Carding’s results which underpin the basis for the European grant application.
DISCOVER-ME is expected to include collection and analysis of clinical and biological data from people with ME, looking for measurable patterns that could help explain symptoms and disease mechanisms. Areas of interest include immune function, inflammation, the nervous system, energy metabolism, the gut microbiome and the body’s response to exertion.
A key aim will be to identify whether people with ME can be grouped into meaningful subtypes based on shared biological features. This could support more targeted research into diagnostics, treatments and clinical management.
As part of Horizon Europe’s aims, the project will also support shared data resources, research tools and best-practice methods, including better use of existing datasets and improved approaches to collecting data and samples so that future researchers can reuse and build on the findings. In addition, collaboration with patient communities is key. Patient involvement will help ensure that research questions are relevant, study designs are practical for people affected by ME, and results are communicated clearly and responsibly.
DISCOVER-ME will deliver the first clinically actionable, biologically validated stratification framework for ME/CFS (i.e. it involves grouping patients based on specific characteristics to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of treatments. This approach helps ensure that the right people receive the right therapies at the right time, optimising clinical study designs and outcomes.
Through harmonised clinical phenotyping of 2,000 people with ME and multi-omics profiling of over 900 samples from five European biobanks, the project will identify, validate, and prioritise biomarkers across (epi)genetic, immune, metabolic, neuroendocrine, and vascular domains. This large-scale, reproducible approach overcomes decades of fragmented, underpowered studies that have stalled progress.
Three innovations set DISCOVER-ME apart: (i) a robust biomarker discovery and validation pipeline; (ii) the first systems-level taxonomy (classification, based on their natural relationships. It involves organising species into hierarchical groups, known as taxa, according to shared characteristics.) of ME/CFS grounded in mechanistic disease drivers and supported by AI-assisted stratification; and (iii) open-access disease maps and digital twin models that combine biological mechanisms with social and economic determinants of health, enabling in silico testing of therapeutic hypotheses. These outputs will underpin biomarker-guided clinical trials and precision drug repurposing.
Beyond the laboratory, the project sits within a broader movement within EU countries to bring ME into mainstream health research and policy.
Whilst this project will not immediately produce a cure, it could improve scientific understanding, identify measurable disease markers, strengthen European research networks and help researchers design better studies in the future.
For people living with ME, the milestone represents recognition, investment and momentum. It also offers hope that future diagnosis and care may become more evidence-based, consistent and responsive to the realities of the illness.
