Today (5th July) marks Research Appreciation Day, which celebrates the hard work of health researchers and scientists around the world.
This year, the organisers of Research Appreciation Day 2025 highlight that ‘All breakthroughs in healthcare are made thanks to the work of researchers.’ Therefore, we highlight the work ME Research UK is currently funding, and celebrate the hard work of all researchers involved.
Another key focus of Research Appreciation Day 2025 is to explore careers in research. For most researchers – including those in areas relating to ME/CFS – their career will begin with PhD level research, progress to a post-doctoral position or fellowship, and then to become the principal investigator on a project level grant. At this level, the next step is often to secure grant support from government funding bodies such as NIHR or the MRC in the UK.
This progression underpins ME Research UK’s approach – from PhD level through to project grants – and the charity believes that a sustainable ecosystem of biomedical research is needed to understand the causes and consequences of ME/CFS, and to discover an eventual treatment/cure.
ME Research UK also supports ME/CFS researchers at the very beginning of their careers – at a point when they will be choosing which career-path to take and which research to dedicate their working lives to. Therefore, this year ME Research UK is launching the ‘Researcher Circle’ aimed (initially) at PhD-level students working on projects funded by the charity.
We will:
- create an online space for students to network and learn about each other’s work.
- Provide an opportunity for skill development through talks given by members of ME Research UK staff, from established researchers in the field, and from other relevant experts.
- Provide a friendly forum to discuss challenges faced, to practice presentations, and to lay the foundations for future careers.
