National Foundation for ME/CFS Researchnationalmecfs.org

A research-funding foundation, being established

ME/CFS affects 1.3% of American adults. Research funding does not reflect that.

The National Foundation for ME/CFS Research is being established to bring state and federal research funding for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome into line with the scale of the disease. We will make that case to legislators and publish the economic evidence it rests on.

In 2021–2022 1.3% of US adults had been told by a doctor or other health professional they had ME/CFS and still had it National Health Interview Survey, 57,133 adults; self-reported diagnosis [1]
NIH research spending on ME/CFS, FY2025 $12M after $13M in each of FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024 NIH RePORT categorical spending, rounded, as categorised by NIH [2]

What we are working on

Two projects, before the foundation opens its doors.

Current work

The foundation is not yet open. Two pieces of work are under way ahead of launch. Results from both will be published here once they have been through independent review.

The economic cost of ME/CFS and Long COVID in the United States

In progress

Legislators ask two questions: what does this disease cost, and is the research money proportionate? Published US answers differ several-fold because they rest on different case definitions and costing methods. We are building a multi-year analysis of the cost of ME/CFS and Long COVID, and a comparison of research funding against disease burden across many conditions, on a basis that can be defended line by line.

Measuring craniocervical instability

In progress

Craniocervical instability (CCI) is excessive movement between the skull and the top two bones of the neck, usually because the ligaments that hold that joint are lax or damaged. It is suspected in some people with ME/CFS and is rarely studied, in part because there is no agreed, reproducible way to measure it. We are supporting work on an objective measurement of craniocervical movement from standard imaging, as the step that has to come before any question about treatment.

About

Washington, DC.

A small foundation with one job

The National Foundation for ME/CFS Research is being established by Lukas Barth, a former McKinsey consultant with an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. It is based in Washington, DC. Its purpose is to increase public research funding for ME/CFS. Patient organisations, clinics and research charities already do essential work; a dedicated effort to move state and federal research appropriations is the piece we are building.

Structure

  • Organised as a US nonprofit corporation. An application for recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity has been filed with the IRS; this page will say when it is granted.
  • Board of directors and scientific advisers: to be announced.
  • Governing documents, annual filings and funding sources will be published here as they exist.

Contact

Researchers, clinicians, legislators, journalists.

Write to us

If you run a research group, work in a legislative office, report on health policy, or want to know more about either project, write to us. We answer every message.

lukas@nationalmecfs.org

Sources

Every figure on this page, traced.

Sources

  1. Vahratian A, Lin JS, Bertolli J, Unger ER. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome in adults: United States, 2021–2022. NCHS Data Brief no. 488. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; December 2023. National Health Interview Survey, 57,133 adults; ME/CFS defined as a yes to both NHIS questions: ever told by a doctor or other health professional that you had CFS or ME, and still have it. cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db488.htm
  2. National Institutes of Health, RePORT. Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC). Table published 23 June 2026; FY2022 to FY2025 annual support levels, dollars in millions and rounded. NIH describes category levels as its best estimates based on the category definitions; categories are not mutually exclusive. Category "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)": FY2022 $13M, FY2023 $13M, FY2024 $13M, FY2025 $12M. report.nih.gov/funding/categorical-spending