The Gibson Inquiry into ME in 2006 demonstrated the lack of research into ME. It is important to establish centres of clinical excellence that would provide a thorough clinical assessment of ME patients, provide tests that would address the clinical diagnosis, establish a data base of patients with all their clinical signs and symptoms, identify important clinical deficits and needs with a view to offering effective diagnosis, treatment, and care.

Dr Ian Gibson

With over 3000 scientists at the Norwich Research Park, consisting of 4 world leading research institutes, a university and a teaching hospital, it is one of Europe’s largest single-site concentrations of research in Food and Health and Environmental sciences.
Having academic excellence across a range of diverse, but related fields, in one location is a very powerful way to deliver a step-change in potential outcomes across a number of health issues. Importantly, the new centre for food and health, due to open at the end of 2017 at the Norwich Research Park, takes co-location to a new level as it uniquely integrates academic excellence with clinical expertise; by bringing together the Institute of Food Research with aspects of the University of East Anglia’s medical school and science faculty with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals' gastrointestinal endoscopy facility, working alongside industry. The new Institute will provide a novel holistic, systematic and integrated approach to deliver faster innovation as well as helping to inform government policy on a range of gut and diet related issues including M.E.

The development of this new centre, together with the other expertise and facilities located at the Norwich Research Park, puts it in a very good position to lead a UK and European Centre of Excellence for biomedical research for M.E. to provide possible prevention and solutions.

Professor Ian Charles
Journal of IiME Abstract 2015