Latest News
April 28,2026
Solve webinar: The Discovery of Target Antigens for Dysfunctional T Cells in ME/CFS and Long COVID
View webinar here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3Zz8DwK_c&ra=m
Dr. Liisa Selin, Dr. Ayano Kohlgruber, and Dr. Roshan Kumar were awarded a Solve ME/CFS Catalyst Award for their study searching for the exact proteins recognized by T-cell receptors from a person with ME/CFS and a person with Long Covid.
These disease-associated T cells include “exhausted” CD8+ T cells and “double-positive” CD4+/CD8+ T cells (which are found in people with autoimmune diseases, too). The researchers hypothesize that these T cells recognize fragments of microbial proteins critical for developing the disease. The microbial protein fragments may overstimulate and exhaust the T cells. Also, fragments of human proteins may resemble these microbial protein fragments; thus, the disease-associated T cells may cross-react with human proteins to drive an autoimmune response. In this study, the research team will screen a library of protein fragments from microbes (viruses and bacteria) that are associated with developing Long Covid or ME/CFS (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, B. burgdorferi, enteroviruses), and a library of protein fragments from humans (to find self-antigens). If successful, these deliverables would be important for understanding how much persisting pathogens or self-antigens can exhaust the immune system, and how dysfunctional and exhausted immune responses contribute to ME/CFS and Long Covid. In this webinar, the panelists will discuss the study and how this work could also produce new disease biomarkers and suggest new treatments for patient subgroups, as well as how the libraries of human leukocyte antigen–displayed microbial and human protein fragments established by this work could be valuable resources for future ME/CFS and Long Covid studies.
February 24, 2026
New Catalyst Awards to Accelerate ME/CFS and Long Covid Breakthroughs - Solve ME/CFS Initiative
https://solvecfs.org/february-2026-catalyst-awards/
Solve M.E. is proud to support two pioneering studies through our latest round of ME/CFS Catalyst Awards, a focused initiative to support promising research projects that have already made significant strides in advancing our understanding of ME/CFS, Long Covid, and associated conditions, and are poised to deliver meaningful results with just a bit more support.
“Effect of Semaglutide on ME/CFS Symptoms”
Led by Professor Carmen Scheibenbogen (Institute of Medical Immunology, Charité), the study will evaluate whether semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, can reduce symptoms and improve quality of life for people with ME/CFS who are receiving treatment for being overweight. The research will also try to identify biomarkers to predict which patients may benefit most and ensure patient involvement throughout the project.
“Discovery of Target Antigens for Dysfunctional T Cells in ME/CFS and Long COVID”
The study led by Liisa Selin, MD, PhD, (Professor, Dept of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School), Roshan Kumar, PhD (Executive Director, Head of Translational Medicine at HiFiBiO Therapeutics), and Ayano Kohlgruber, PhD (Assistant Professor at Boston Children’s Hospital) aims to identify the specific proteins that trigger dysfunctional immune responses in ME/CFS and Long Covid, paving the way for new diagnostic tools and targeted treatments.
Both of these Catalyst Award-winning studies directly address urgent patient needs. By exploring new treatment options and uncovering the biological drivers of ME/CFS and Long Covid, the research aims to improve diagnosis, personalize therapies, and accelerate the path to effective treatments. Both projects exemplify strong patient engagement, ensuring that lived experience shapes research priorities and outcomes.“Solve M.E. is committed to putting patients at the center of scientific progress. These Catalyst Award-winning studies not only push the boundaries of ME/CFS research but also ensure that patient voices guide every step. We believe these projects will bring us closer to answers, hope, and better lives for people affected by ME/CFS and Long Covid,” said Emily Taylor, President and CEO at Solve M.E.
Dr. Scheibenbogen noted, “I would like to sincerely thank Solve M.E. for their funding, which enables us to investigate the potential effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists on ME/CFS symptoms.”
Dr. Selin told us, “This award is crucial to our continuing our research into the immunopathogensis of ME/CFS and making a giant step to identify the potential viruses or autoantigens that drive the disease.”
In April, Solve will host Dr. Scheibenbogen and Drs. Selin, Kohlgruber, and Kumar for free educational webinars to discuss their Catalyst Award-winning studies.
Sign up for “GLP-1 Drugs to Reduce Symptoms in People with ME/CFS and Identify Disease Subgroups”with Dr. Scheibenbogen on April 16 here.
Sign up for “The Discovery of Target Antigens for Dysfunctional T Cells in ME/CFS and Long COVID“ with Drs. Selin, Kohlgruber, and Kumar on April 28 here.
Professor Scheibenbogen and Dr. Selin are alumni of Solve’s Ramsay Research Grant Program, an open, peer-reviewed competition for grants to support pilot studies and data analysis. Professor Scheibenbogen received two Ramsay Grants, in 2016 for “Autoimmune Signature in ME/CFS,” and in 2017 for “Metabolic Changes in T Cells & Monocytes.” In 2022, she received a $12 million grant (€10 million) in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for the clinical trial––research platform NKSG––to develop treatment for people with ME/CFS or Long Covid.
Dr. Selin and Dr. Anna Gil won a Ramsay Award in 2019 for their study, “Altered T cells in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).” In 2021, Selin and Gil were awarded a $2.5 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build upon work on their Solve-funded study, and, in 2022, they were one of six Solve Ramsay Grant research teams to receive nearly $5 million in biomedical research awards for Long Covid and associated conditions–including ME/CFS.
The Ramsay Program has been successful in attracting new scientists to the field of ME/CFS, providing much-needed funding for researchers to engage with the science of the disease and build pilot data. With the follow-on funding successes of Scheibenbogen, Selin, and others, the Ramsay Research Grant Program now boasts an incredible 57x return on investment.
These projects reflect Solve M.E.’s commitment to patient-centered, translational research—turning biological discovery into real-world impact. Because of people like you, we are accelerating answers, advancing hope, and bringing better lives within reach for this community.
If you’d like to help grow our Catalyst Awards and other research programs, make a gift to Solve today.
May 20, 2025
Article on the SolveME website
May 15, 2025
Article on Health Rising Blog
Topic: Finding the Key? Could Unraveling T-cell Exhaustion Solve ME/CFS and Long Covid.
April 29, 2025
Video: SolveME Webinar (video here)
Topic: Immune Dysfunction & T-Cell Exhaustion via Single Cell Immune Profiling in ME/CFS & Long COVID
Speakers: This webinar features Liisa K. Selin, MD, PhD, Anna Gil, PhD (viral immunologists from the Univ. of Massachusetts Chan Medical School), Roshan Kumar, PhD (clinical stage global biotech company HiFiBiO Therapeutics), and the labs’ patient representatives Megan L. Fitzgerald, PhD, and Rivka Solomon, MS
About: These two collaborating labs are studying dysregulated immune cells of ME/CFS and Long COVID patients. Their research goals include: gaining insights into the underlying immune mechanisms of these illnesses (including via antigen discovery); better understanding patient subgroups; and finding diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic innovations. The two labs are collaborating on their PLRC current project analyzing T cells from ME/CFS and Long COVID patients both functionally and at a single-cell level. Also at this webinar, Liisa Selin summarizes the Selin Lab's paper, “Identification of CD8 T-cell dysfunction associated with symptoms in ME/CFS and Long COVID and treatment with a nebulized antioxidant/anti-pathogen agent in a retrospective case series.”
May 23, 2024
Video: Renegade Research/Remission Biome Roundtable (video here)
Topic: T-cell dysfunction in ME/CFS and Long Covid
Speakers: Liisa K. Selin, MD PhD; Anna Gil, PhD, viral immunologists from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Roshan Kumar, PhD, Executive Director, External Innovation, HiFiBiO Therapeutics; and Megan Fitzgerald and Rivka Solomon, Patient-Led Research Collaborative (PLRC) patient representatives with the above two labs.
About: More on the HiFiBiO-Selin Lab collaboration found here and here.
April 16, 2024
Press release by HiFiBiO regarding Selin Lab Collaboration
HiFiBiO Therapeutics Receives Grant to Research Long COVID and ME/CFS in Collaboration with UMass Chan Medical School
February 1, 2024
UMass Chan Medical School News (magazine article)
UMass Chan advances research into long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis
October 10, 2023
Press release by PLRC Fund: The Patient-Led Research Fund is a $5 million fund that provided grants to Long COVID biomedical research projects, awarded by a panel of patient-researchers with expertise in post-viral illnesses and lived experience of Long COVID and/or ME/CFS: "Immune repertoire profiling of Long COVID and ME/CFS patients – Dr. Roshan Kumar, HiFiBiO Therapeutics; Dr. Liisa Selin and Dr. Anna Gil, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. "Multiple lines of evidence point to underlying immune abnormalities in patients with infection-associated chronic illnesses such as Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). However, how these abnormalities relate to disease symptoms and mechanisms is unclear…In this project, novel single-cell profiling technologies will be applied through the DIS® platform to characterize immune repertoires and identify targets of B and T cell responses in ME/CFS and Long COVID patients. By identifying autoantigens and viral targets of these immune responses, there will be insight into underlying disease mechanisms defining patient subgroups that can be translated into diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic interventions.”
November 2022
PLRC grant awarded to Selin Lab: "Altered T cell responses in Long COVID (PASC) and ME/CFS – Dr. Liisa Selin and Dr. Anna Gil, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School: "Based on earlier research, this project hypothesizes that the common theme in Long COVID and ME/CFS is an aberrant response to an immunological trigger like infection that results in a permanently dysregulated immune system as a result of CD8 T cell exhaustion. This project will do a deep dive into the T cells of Long COVID and ME/CFS patients, looking for exhausted and activated subsets, and will additionally look at reactivated herpesviruses in relation to these findings.
November 23, 2022
Solve Ramsay Grant Scientists Among Those Awarded Nearly $5 Million for Biomedical Research: "This week the Patient-Led Research Collaborative (PLRC) announced $4.8 million in biomedical research awards for Long Covid and associated conditions."
October 5, 2022
WBUR, Boston's National Public Radio station
How Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is helping doctors understand long COVID
August 8, 2022
WBUR, Boston's National Public Radio station (article and accompanying radio piece).To solve the mystery of long COVID, researchers look to an older disease Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, senior health reporter for Boston's highly regarded National Public Radio station, WBUR, featured Dr. Selin in her story on Long Covid and ME/CFS research.
June 16, 2022
June 9, 2022
U.S. Congressmen Visit ME/CFS/Long Covid Researchers at UMass Chan Medical School:
Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) visited researchers studying ME/CFS and Long COVID at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, MA.
November 17, 2021
Dr. Amy Proal interviews Dr. Liisa Selin about T cell exhaustion and viral activity in ME/CFS
November 3, 3021
UMass Chan Medical School News (magazine article)
Liisa Selin and Anna Gil study links between viral infections and ME/CFS: NIH grant to study T cell function after viral illnesses may have implications for long COVID
March 16, 2021
Press release from Massachusetts ME/CFS & FM Association: NIH grant awarded to the Selin Lab: "This NIH RO1 grant, titled “Altered T cell Responses in ME/CFS” allows the researchers to examine the role of aberrant T cell responses in the immunopathogenesis of ME/CFS patients. Selin and Gil's recent research findings could point to potential biomarkers, treatments and ways of tracking response to therapy for the disease, things that have been sorely missing."
September 27, 2020
Video from MassME Research Club: Speakers Liisa Selin, MD, PhD, and Anna Gil, PhD
2020
December 5, 2017
Researchers connect severity of 'kissing disease' to T-cell population
November 23, 2005
Press release from UMass Medical School: "Immunological karma: T cells reactive to old flu infections make unrelated viral infections worse."