Ramsay Healthcare Research

Beyond biomedical research, we recognise the need to strengthen existing healthcare systems and clinical practice. That’s why we also invest in healthcare-focused projects and support students who are engaged in ME/CFS and Long Covid research.

Ramsay Healthcare Research aims to:

Improve clinical practice, care provision, and patient-centred outcomes
Enhance policy and guidelines through evidence-based research
Support education and training for healthcare professionals
Produce high-quality systematic reviews to inform national discussions
Ensure the latest discoveries reach the frontlines of patient care and policy development.

See Research Projects

Ramsay Healthcare Fund images in hexagons of different health services

Student Research – PhD Funded Projects

We recognise the importance of supporting student researchers and fostering the next generation of ME/CFS and Long Covid scientists.

Student projects spark innovation, expand academic collaborations, and promote fresh approaches to advancing diagnosis, treatment, and care.

By supporting students, we help embed lived experience into study design, strengthen future capacity in underfunded areas, and ensure the latest science continues to serve patients and clinicians alike.

We welcome students to get in touch whether undergraduate or postgraduate who seek funding support or who need help disseminating their surveys or projects: research@meassociation.org.uk

Grant Amount: £16,000

Rosalind Franklin Institute

Research Field: Pathophysiology

Aleyna Lumsden, under the supervision of Dr Bela Paiza and Professor Karl Morten

Start Date: 01/10/2025

Duration: 4 years

Status: In progress

Background

ME/CFS is hard to diagnose and treat due to its complex biology and lack of biomarkers.
Metabolomics, a branch of “omics,” studies small molecules to find disease-specific patterns.
Mass spectrometry (MS) helps detect these molecules, but identifying unknowns is challenging.
Traditional tools like Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) are slow and limited—advanced methods and modelling are needed.

Project Overview

Goal: Identify unknown molecules in ME/CFS patients and healthy controls to find potential biomarkers.
Uses of advanced tools across different research sites, including ion mobility mass spectrometry combined with liquid chromatography and tandem MS (LC-MS/MS).
Combining lab techniques with computer modelling (Universal Fragmentation Model -UFM) to predict molecular behaviour.
Findings will be validated using NMR or microED, which then can be mapped to confirm molecules to disease pathways.
Hopefully findings will inform new diagnostics and treatment strategies.

Grant Amount: £7,985

University of Liverpool

Research Field: Treatment

Karen Lesile, under the supervision of Dr Andrew King and Dr Nicola Baker

Start Date: 01/07/2024

Duration: 6 years

Status: In progress

Vagus nerve stimulation trial: update

Background

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a non-invasive method used to stimulate the vagus nerve via the ear, showing promise for conditions like epilepsy, depression, and migraines, and potential benefits in memory, inflammation, and pain.
Interest in taVNS is growing, however, to date only one former study has been conducted (Natelson et al., 2023)

Study Aims

This study will help prepare for more rigorous research into taVNS as a potential treatment for ME/CFS through:

Assessing the feasibility of a full-scale trial (recruitment, adherence, etc.),
Determining appropriate sample size and outcome measures,
Understanding patient experiences with taVNS,
Evaluating the treatment’s safety.

Image of scientific researchers in a laboratory testing samples with a microscope

Everything we achieve is thanks to the generosity of supporters like you

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