LS24 / Scope of the call

This special call is issued within the WWTF instrument “supplementing measures” (“Ergänzende Instrumente”) specified in the WWTF Funding Guideline.

This call invites researchers from the biomedical, computer and clinical sciences to submit small interdisciplinary research proposals that advance knowledge of the etiopathogenesis, diagnostics and/or therapy of post-acute infectious diseases like ME/CFS. Projects investigating overlapping features from other diseases showing clinical post-exertional malaise are also eligible. This is a special call for exploratory projects that seek to generate preliminary data.

Why ME/CFS?

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex and poorly understood chronic disease. As part of the family of post-acute infectious diseases, it is characterised by a wide range of complex and serious, debilitating conditions with a variety of symptoms. This includes the cardinal symptom post-exertional malaise. Other symptoms like sleep dysfunction, pain, neurological/cognitive manifestations, as well as autonomic, immunological, and neuro-endocrinological symptoms are part of ME/CFS. Individuals with ME/CFS often do not return to pre-disease levels of activity.[1][2] The cause of ME/CFS is currently unknown. ME/CFS affects individuals of all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic groups. It is estimated that in Austria up to 80.000 patients suffer from ME/CFS[3], with women being more likely to be diagnosed than men[4].

The goal of this call is to support small exploratory research projects that address fundamental research questions to advance understanding of post-acute infectious diseases such as ME/CFS and to generate preliminary data. Highly welcome are:

Projects that push the state of the art
Projects that bring together experimental & clinical approaches (Translational)
Projects that bring together approaches from different scientific disciplines (Interdisciplinary)

The focus is on advancing the understanding of post-acute infectious diseases such as ME/CFS. However, projects investigating other post-acute infectious diseases that show substantial post-exertional malaise in their phenotype are also eligible for funding. Please note that solely observational projects in clinical settings and health service research do not fit the scope of this call.

Phenotypic Characteristics

ME/CFS: The definition of ME/CFS must be based on either of these international consensus criteria

Post-acute infectious diseases: Other post-acute infectious diseases can also be investigated as part of the proposed research projects. Recent research has shown significant overlap in the biological mechanisms between a wide range of post-acute infectious diseases[5]. Projects investigating other post-acute infectious diseases are therefore also invited (e.g., Long COVID). To be included in the scope of this call, the disease to be studied must meet the phenotypic criteria of post-exertional malaise as defined by one of the above-mentioned international consensus criteria.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

In this call we encourage the collaboration between biomedical, computer and clinical sciences and other disciplines. The interdisciplinary expertise required for the proposed research project may be based within the same research group or traverse research groups and institutions. Plans for collaboration between expertise groups must be demonstrated throughout all critical stages of the project, from formulation of the research question, experimental design to data analyses.

Research Data and Data Management

“Research data” in the context of WWTF funded projects include, but are not limited to: study protocols, observations and measurements, results of experiments, metadata, software codes, hyperparameters, images. All research data produced in the context of WWTF-funded projects (i.e., owned by the involved researcher) should be made accessible according to the FAIR principles[6] via a repository to facilitate the reproduction of results. WWTF requires applicants to reflect on data management in the application process.