Apply for a Research Grant
At the ME Association, we believe that research holds the key to transforming the lives of people with ME/CFS. Through our Ramsay Research Fund, we invest in pioneering studies that uncover the biological mechanisms of the illness, identify diagnostic biomarkers and causal pathways, and develop evidence-based treatments that improve care and outcomes.
We also champion projects that build research capacity—strengthening infrastructure, fostering collaboration, and accelerating progress across the field. Our funding priorities are guided by the James Lind Alliance’s top 10+ ME/CFS research questions, ensuring that every project we support is rooted in what matters most to patients, clinicians, and scientists.
Each investment reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing science with compassion, integrity, and impact.
We would encourage any researcher to first contact the charity's research committee with an outline of their proposal and to arrange an initial discussion:
All grant decisions follow the same procedures, all are reviewed by our Research Committee and will include an internal and external peer review of all formal grant applications.
1
Submit Proposal
- If you would like to submit a formal proposal, you can complete the research proposition form. The research committee will discuss the proposal and aim to respond within 4 weeks.
2
Submit Grant Application
- If the research committee approve the proposal, the next stage will require submission of a formal grant application in preparation for the peer review process.
3
Trustees Vote
- The board of trustees will be asked to vote on the research committee’s recommendation (final stages), which may then lead to a formal agreement.
Animal Testing
- The RRF is not funding any research that involves the use of animals nor do we have any plans (or applications) to fund research that involves the use of animals.
- We would not completely rule out the use of animal research if we were convinced that information from this could lead to an effective form of treatment for ME/CFS and that there was no other way in which this research could be carried out.
- But this is clearly a hypothetical situation that is very unlikely to occur because any research into the treatment of ME/CFS can normally be conducted through clinical trials involving human volunteers.
Ramsay Research Funding Information
- We are very aware that people who give money to research want to see it spent on research – and not swallowed up by administration expenses, therefore we do not take any administration charges.
- The RRF is a restricted ring-fenced fund for biomedical research, which means the fund is solely for research activity.
- Research actively that falls outside of the scope of Biomedical research, i.e. Healthcare Research is funded out of our general funds.
- We do not employ any extra staff to deal with routine research administration, and any support that is required would be taken from general funds.
